Zoom has announced a wave of new AI-driven features at its annual Zoomtopia conference, showcasing its ambition to remain a leader in the evolving workplace collaboration market. The highlight of this year’s update is an upgraded AI Companion that now works across platforms like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and even in-person meetings a move aimed squarely at competing with rising productivity startups.
AI Companion Goes Cross-Platform
While Zoom has long offered transcription and meeting recording through its AI bot, competitors such as Otter, Fireflies, Read AI, Granola, and Circleback have gained ground with cross-platform tools. To counter that, Zoom’s new cross-application AI notetaker captures notes across rival meeting apps and offline discussions. In addition, users can jot down their own notes, which the AI will later expand and structure into detailed summaries.
Smarter Scheduling and Calendar Tools
The upgraded AI Companion also introduces calendar intelligence, offering suggestions for times that work best for all attendees, as well as a “free up my time” feature that highlights meetings a user might skip. These additions place Zoom in direct competition with productivity apps like Clockwise, which offer similar conflict-resolution features. The platform also delivers proactive recommendations like suggested agenda items and task assignments to make meetings more efficient.
Photorealistic AI Avatars and Zoom Clips
Another headline feature is the arrival of AI-powered photorealistic avatars. First teased earlier this year by CEO Eric Yuan, these avatars mimic user movements and gestures in real time, providing a professional presence when participants are not “camera-ready.” Hosts can also use avatars and Zoom Clips, the company’s asynchronous video tool, to greet attendees in waiting rooms or explain meeting objectives. While the technology boosts flexibility, it does raise concerns over deepfake risks, prompting IT teams to consider safeguards.
Advanced AI Tools for Workflows
Beyond meetings, Zoom is expanding its platform with AI-powered writing assistants to draft emails and documents, as well as a deep research tool for smarter information retrieval. The AI Companion will also support live translations for global teams. In addition, Zoom is launching a new video management tool to help organizations organize and manage video assets more effectively.
Custom AI Agents and Performance Upgrades
Developers will soon be able to build custom AI agents on Zoom, thanks to support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Performance is also getting a boost with higher bit rates and 60fps video support, enhancing the overall meeting experience.
Looking Ahead
With these updates, Zoom is positioning itself not just as a video conferencing platform but as a comprehensive productivity ecosystem. By blending cross-platform note-taking, AI avatars, smarter scheduling, and custom AI agents, Zoom is signaling its intent to outpace both tech giants and specialized startups in the race for the future of work.
