3 things that matter most when implementing generative AI

We’ve received an overwhelming response from our customers on how Zoom AI Companion has already positively impacted their workday in the two short months since it launched.

Improving productivity is a big benefit. Over 125,000 customers have used AI Companion to generate more than one million meeting summaries so far! That’s a lot of time and energy saved from not having to take notes. 

When AI Companion takes note-taking off employees’ plates, they can be more engaged in the meetings they attend. It also empowers them to skip the meetings where they don’t have an active role, knowing they can be more productive with their time and get all the details delivered to them through a summary. Plus, with the option to automatically share meeting summaries with everyone on the invite, teams can stay aligned and in sync without extra effort.

The benefits extend beyond that, too. Take a look at what our customers have to say:

“AI Companion’s meeting summaries and smart recordings are the first technological innovations in the last decade that bring us tangible time-saving, efficient benefits. People can prioritize specific meetings and collaborations while remaining confident they aren’t missing out on competing activities.”

- Chris Blackstone, Director, Digital Workplace and End User Computing, Convera

As more companies evaluate which generative AI tools they need, we’re seeing three factors that make a big difference for our customers. Learn more about them below, and see how AI Companion is evolving to meet your needs.

AI can be used for all kinds of things, and that can be the most overwhelming part: figuring out when and how it fits into your workday. More isn’t always better, which is why it’s best to start with the AI capabilities that will have the most impact on your daily activities, like Zoom Meetings. 

We’re thrilled to share that people will be able to enjoy the benefits of AI Companion’s in-meeting questions with support for seven new languages (in preview): Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Portuguese, Chinese, and Italian! If you need to ask AI Companion a question during the meeting, you can do so in any of the supported languages. 

Later in November, we’ll be expanding our multi-language support so you’ll be able to generate a meeting summary and ask in-meeting questions in 32 languages (in preview). 

When you know you’ll be getting a comprehensive summary of discussion points and action items after a meeting, it reduces the need for note-taking. Our new overview at the beginning of meeting summaries gives you a high-level glance at what was discussed so you don’t have to read through the whole summary.

We introduced these enhancements specifically because they’re what our customers have been asking for, and we worked quickly to address your requests for improvement. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us — we’re always looking to listen and innovate to make Zoom better for you. 

There’s no doubt AI is transforming work as we know it, helping people be more efficient with their day and enhancing the quality of their work. We believe that the benefits of AI should be available to as many people as possible, without having to pay a premium per user or have a minimum number of seats to gain access. 

That’s why we decided to provide AI Companion at no additional cost with the paid services assigned to your Zoom user account.*

That means businesses of any size can experience AI Companion without worrying about the additional price tag that comes with other AI tools. We’re proud to see tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized business accounts to large enterprises taking advantage of what AI Companion has to offer. 

“With automated, detailed meeting summaries, AI Companion streamlines information sharing and boosts productivity. This inclusion in our Zoom plan not only improves efficiency but also yields significant cost savings, reflecting our commitment to a smarter, more connected future.”

John Georgatos, Chief Information Officer, Mike Morse Law Firm

How can we do this? Our unique federated approach is designed to deliver high-quality results by dynamically incorporating Zoom’s large language model as well as LLMs from industry leaders like Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic. This approach has proven successful for delivering quality, low-latency and cost-effective solutions for our customers, and allowing us to evolve and incorporate new generative AI innovations, all while helping to ensure optimal performance and results.

AI doesn’t just affect how employees perform their daily tasks, it has the potential to transform a company’s operations, affecting efficiency, quality of work, and ultimately, profitability. According to a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Zoom,** 73% of leaders believe teams using AI have an advantage over teams who aren’t, and 71% believe companies should incorporate AI as soon as possible. That means companies need to move fast to gain a competitive edge.

With AI Companion, you can get started right away — it’s as simple as making sure your Zoom client is updated (minimum version 5.16.6) and enabling the capability in your Zoom admin settings. From there, employees on your account can turn on certain capabilities at the user level if they want to use features like meeting summaries, for example. 

With Zoom’s speed of innovation and focus on customer feedback, our customers are seeing new capabilities and enhancements every few weeks. Stay tuned for new capabilities for Zoom Events, a Zoom LLM-only setting, and a meetings coach later in November!

If you’re looking at AI Companion for your organization, we’ve got many different resources to help you evaluate and implement it:

• Check out our courses in the Zoom Learning Center — there’s one to help administrators set up AI Companion settings for your organization and another to help employees learn how to use it.
• Share our getting started guide with employees to help them make the most of AI Companion in their workday.

Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in October 2023 and updated in November 2023 to include the latest available features for AI Companion.

*Note: AI Companion may not be available for all regions and industry verticals.

**Based on an online survey of 11,023 full-time knowledge workers in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. Conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Zoom Video Communications, Inc., between August 10–25, 2023.