Zoom, one of the world’s leading video conferencing platforms, continues to push the envelope with increasingly advanced features designed to boost productivity in the workplace.
At its Zoomtopia 2024 event, the company announced a significant update: the arrival of customizable AI-powered avatars.
This feature will allow users to create digital versions of themselves to handle tasks autonomously, such as sending messages or participating in meetings asynchronously.
While this new capability won’t arrive until 2025, its preview has already generated significant buzz, alongside questions about its potential and the challenges it presents. This development is another piece in Zoom’s growing and sophisticated ecosystem of AI tools, known as Zoom AI Companion.
The Headliner: Custom AI Avatars
The standout feature of this update is the ability to create custom avatars that represent users in digital settings.
These avatars won’t just replicate a person’s physical appearance; they will also be able to speak and deliver messages using an AI-generated voice.
To create one, users will need to record an initial video of themselves, which will serve as the foundation for Zoom’s AI to build an animated version of their face and upper body.
From there, users simply need to type a script, and the avatar will “speak” whatever the user wants to communicate.
A Substitute for Texts and Emails
This avatar can primarily be used to send short video clips instead of text messages or emails, which could save users time when creating routine updates for their teams.
Initially, the function will only be available for creating clips. However, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has mentioned in previous interviews that his ambition goes much further.
According to Yuan, the ultimate goal is for these avatars to fully participate in meetings, allowing users to multitask while their “digital twin” attends on their behalf.
Concerns Over Deepfakes and Security
A point that has not gone unnoticed is the potential security risk posed by this technology. The ability to create an avatar that so faithfully mimics a person’s appearance and voice inevitably brings the problem of deepfakes to mind.
These are AI-manipulated videos that convincingly simulate a person saying or doing something that never actually happened.
To address this concern, Zoom has assured that the feature will include multiple layers of security, such as advanced authentication technologies, watermarks, and strict usage policies.
Smita Hashim, Zoom’s Chief Product Officer, stated that the company will take measures to prevent the misuse of avatars and to ensure that any content they generate is easily identifiable as AI-created.
Furthermore, the platform will employ technologies that make it obvious when a clip has been created by an avatar, which should reduce the risk of fraud or misunderstanding.
A Future with AI in Every Corner: Zoom AI Companion
Beyond custom avatars, Zoom has been working on expanding and improving its AI assistant, Zoom AI Companion. Since its launch in 2023, it has helped over 4 million users manage their workflows more effectively.
This tool is designed to assist users throughout their day, helping to organize tasks, summarize meetings, and facilitate communication.
With version 2.0, Zoom AI Companion is gaining new capabilities that make it more intuitive and proactive.
For example, one new function will allow the assistant to automatically summarize unread messages in team chats, helping users get up to speed quickly without having to scroll through a long message history.
A Year-End Packed with New Features
AI Companion will also be able to generate tasks automatically from meeting summaries, fostering better team alignment and simplifying project management.
This will be possible thanks to the integration of Zoom AI Companion with Zoom Tasks, a new tool arriving in late 2024. Additionally, the assistant now has access to broader data.
Connected to external platforms like Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Google Calendar, and other productivity apps, it can generate more comprehensive and personalized responses based on the context from documents, emails, and calendars.
A real-time web search functionality has also been added, allowing users to get immediate answers during meetings without having to open other browsers.
Personalization at an “Extra” Cost
While most of the Zoom AI Companion features will be available to users with paid subscriptions at no additional charge, true customization will come with a price tag.
Zoom has launched an optional add-on that will allow businesses to tailor the tool further to their specific needs.
This add-on, priced at $12 per user per month, will offer integration with a wider range of third-party applications like Atlassian (Jira and Confluence), Zendesk, ServiceNow, HubSpot, and more.
It will also enable the creation of custom dictionaries with company-specific vocabulary and the configuration of personalized templates for meeting summaries.
This level of customization not only has the potential to save time but could transform Zoom’s AI into a true team member, capable of learning a company’s internal dynamics and optimizing the management of routine tasks.
Is Zoom Late to the Party, or Incredibly Early?
With the introduction of AI avatars, Zoom is positioning itself as a key player in the race to integrate artificial intelligence into business communication tools. However, this move comes at a time of intense competition.
Rivals like Microsoft, with its integration of OpenAI’s AI in Teams, and other companies like Google and Cisco, are pushing the boundaries of technology in the sector.
These competitors have forced Zoom to innovate continuously to avoid being left behind in a market where AI is redefining how we work and communicate.
The future of video conferencing and business collaboration undoubtedly runs through artificial intelligence, and Zoom is well-positioned to remain a relevant player.
But with such strong competition, its success will depend on its ability to differentiate itself and deliver real value to its customers through these innovations.
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