Generative AI comes to Zoom for more intuitive meeting experience

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Video conferencing platform Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) has announced new artificial intelligence (AI) features in a valiant effort to improve user experiences.

Dubbed Zoom AI Companion (formerly Zoom IQ), the new tool will allow its users to access AI-generated summaries of online meetings. Formerly known as Zoom IQ, the company confirmed that it will “significantly expand” the tool functionalities to offer innovative use cases for its customers.

Zoom says the AI feature will allow customers to catch up on key meeting moments by asking questions via a side panel. After each meeting, the company confirmed that its AI Companion will be able to provide users with recordings of highlights and smart chapters to create intuitive post-meeting experiences for users.

“We are transcending the hype in generative AI by delivering tangible products and disrupting the industry’s pricing model, making it easy for businesses and people like you and me to leverage generative AI’s full benefits in our day-to-day work,” said Zoom’s Chief Product Officer Smita Hashim.

ICYMI: We launched Zoom AI Companion yesterday – here are some ways it can help you supercharge how you work throughout the Zoom platform🧵

— Zoom (@Zoom) September 6, 2023

However, Zoom stated that the AI functionalities will only be available if they are enabled by the meeting’s host, in line with its privacy policy. According to the announcement, paid Zoom users are expected to have unrestricted access to the AI Companion, while free users will be required to make an upgrade to their plans.

The AI Companion will debut in Team Chat, Meeting, Mail, and White Board, with Zoom promising new upgrades to the service in the coming months.

Zoom unveiled plans to launch a “real-time feedback” feature powered by generative AI to provide reviews of users’ performance in meetings. The feedback feature is expected to go live before the end of the year and will offer coaching to users seeking to improve their presentation skills.

Zoom’s latest AI tool is powered by its native large language model (LLM) while leveraging the strengths of industry leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta (NASDAQ: META).

“We are excited to see our customers and users start using AI Companion and about our strong roadmap for further innovation underpinned by a commitment to responsible AI,” said Hashim.

Navigating through privacy concerns

Aware of the raging concerns around AI, Zoom stated that it does not use any user-generated content, such as audio or video, to train its model after backlash trailed its previous data scraping plan. The company added that the policy extends to third-party AI intelligence models as it prioritizes trust, safety, and privacy.

As the race for generative AI rages on, a private policy update in July confirmed that Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) will rely on public data to train its AI models. Meta and OpenAI are currently embroiled in a class action lawsuit bordering on the illegal use of personal data to train their AI models as regulators scramble to put in place guardrails for the safe use of innovative technologies.

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