Zoom’s AI Companion: Keeping You Informed
Zoom, the renowned videoconferencing and messaging platform, is venturing into the realm of built-in generative AI assistants. In an exciting development, Zoom is rebranding its Zoom IQ as the Zoom AI Companion. What’s even better is that users who are already subscribed to the paid services will have immediate access to these new features.
Your Workday Ally
Zoom’s “AI Companion” is designed to equip users with contextual and invaluable intelligence tailored to the challenges of a typical workday. This AI assistant can enhance productivity by helping compose chat responses, thus saving time and enabling users to focus on critical projects. For those who join meetings late, the AI Companion steps in by summarizing ongoing discussions. It also excels in answering specific questions regarding meeting content and automatically generates summaries, identifies crucial information, and outlines next steps for attendees.
Future Enhancements
Zoom has ambitious plans to expand the capabilities of the AI Companion. Users can look forward to interacting with the assistant using natural language queries, receiving assistance with various tasks like meeting preparation, chat message summaries, email composition, and document retrieval. Additionally, the AI Companion will offer support in filing tickets, providing real-time information during meetings, and analyzing phone calls and messages.
A Federated Approach to AI
Zoom employs a “federated approach” to its AI model selection, aiming to deliver enhanced results. This approach dynamically incorporates Zoom’s own large language model (LLM) alongside Meta Llama 2, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Users benefit from this strategy, as they do not need to worry about selecting the right model to access the latest features and advantages.
Privacy and Transparency
Following concerns about data usage and privacy, Zoom clarifies its stance regarding AI model training. Zoom emphasizes that it does not utilize any user-generated content, including audio, video, chat, screen sharing, or attachments, for training its AI models or those of third parties. The company is committed to transparency and user control, allowing account owners and administrators to manage these features effectively.
Control at Your Fingertips
In the initial release of the Zoom AI Companion, admins and account operators will have the ability to enable or disable specific AI features. Moreover, all capabilities will be disabled by default. Even when features are activated by account admins, hosts will have granular controls within each meeting. Participants in meetings will also be informed of the status of active AI tools.
Past Controversies
Zoom has encountered controversies related to AI in its products in the past. Notably, the company faced criticism for considering emotion AI features in its sales-focused products. These plans were met with skepticism from advocacy groups, emphasizing the importance of user trust and ethical considerations.
