In Short:
Zoom has introduced its AI Companion, available for paid subscribers, to assist with meeting notes during calls. This virtual assistant can summarize meetings, create action items, and highlight who spoke the most. It works best with structured discussions, providing useful summaries when topics are clear. You can also ask it to catch you up, making it a helpful tool for busy meetings.
During a Zoom call, the incessant sound of typing can be distracting. While someone is required to take meeting notes, the responsibility no longer rests solely on human shoulders. With the emergence of Zoom’s **AI Companion** feature, launched last fall and available to all paid subscribers, organizations can simulate the assistance of an administrative professional on every call. This innovative tool not only summarizes meetings but also generates action items and highlights participant contributions.
Capabilities of AI Companion
The **AI Companion** leverages advanced language models developed by **OpenAI**, **Anthropic**, and **Meta**. According to Smita Hashim, Chief Product Officer at Zoom, the AI has further refined its capabilities through extensive training on thousands of internal meetings conducted by Zoom employees. Importantly, Hashim assures that no actual customer conversations are employed for training purposes to maintain confidentiality.
User Experience
Despite its powerful functionality, users may find it challenging to fully understand how to utilize the AI Companion effectively during calls. To better illustrate the features, I conducted multiple meetings and tested the AI system. Below is a guide on how to maximize the AI Companion’s potential, including optimal prompts and an overview of its current limitations.
Meeting Summarization
Accessing AI Companion is straightforward; simply click the icon resembling a magic wand during a meeting. Zoom offers built-in prompts such as “Summarize the meeting,” which generates a detailed list of bullet points based on discussions. The AI Companion functions similarly to a human assistant, capable of creating visual representations of ideas through real-time whiteboards.
From my experience, the effectiveness of the feature is enhanced when participants are clear and focused. During a structured meeting about website design, the AI provided a meaningful summary, capturing essential tasks such as design work, prototype development, and testing. However, it’s worth noting that the AI can struggle with capturing details in more chaotic discussions. For instance, in a less organized conversation regarding a family vacation, the summary produced did not convey the main points coherently.
Additional Functions
In place of a summary, users can also ask the AI Companion to “Catch me up” or inquire if “anyone has action items.” While the AI may not compile a comprehensive overview, it will provide key highlights and takeaways. For example, during the vacation planning meeting, the bot noted a comment from my daughter Rachel regarding flight arrangements. This feature is particularly valuable for those moments when attention may waver during a call—though we would never admit to zoning out during important discussions.
In conclusion, the **AI Companion** represents a significant advancement in facilitating productive meetings, provided that participants leverage its capabilities effectively. As organizations increasingly adopt this technology, understanding its full potential will undoubtedly prove beneficial.
