Zoom Launches a Cross-Application AI Notetaker, AI Avatars, and More in Its Latest Update

Zoom unveiled a host of new products during its Zoomtopia conference on Wednesday, including an upgraded AI companion that works across meeting apps, the ability to take your own notes, AI-powered meeting scheduling, and AI avatars resembling users. With these new features, the company is positioning itself to compete with specialised meeting startups and productivity suites.

For years, Zoom has offered an AI bot to record and transcribe its meetings. However, the rise of cross-application notetakers such as Read AI, Otter, Fireflies, Granola, and Circleback has made great strides in the market. In response, Zoom is expanding the functionality of its AI companion to work with other platforms, such as Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Additionally, a feature will be added to take notes during in-person meetings as well.

Following the lead of Granola, Zoom is introducing a feature that lets users jot down their own notes during meetings, which AI can later expand upon and structure. The company is also introducing a cross-platform search feature, allowing users to access information from both Google and Microsoft platforms.

Zoom is also enhancing its calendar-related features. Through its AI companion, the company will allow users to find suitable time slots for all meeting attendees. Plus, the AI can suggest meetings that can be skipped with a new "free up my time" request. (For reference, the Clockwise calendar tool launched a similar feature last year to resolve meeting conflicts.)

Moreover, Zoom will roll out proactive meeting recommendations, such as suggested tasks and agenda items, to help users prepare for meetings. The company is also introducing a group AI assistant for collaborative tasks.

Another significant addition is the introduction of photorealistic avatars, a feature Zoom has teased for some time. Earlier this year, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan used one of these avatars during the company's quarterly call. The avatars will mimic users' actions on video, which is useful when you're not "camera-ready," according to Zoom. However, the company also acknowledges the deepfake risks involved with the misuse of these personas, which could lead corporate IT departments to turn off the feature.

This avatar feature is expected to be available to consumers by the end of the year.

Along with these new additions, the update will introduce the ability for hosts to use Zoom Clips—the company's asynchronous video tool—along with AI avatars to greet people in waiting rooms and explain the purpose of the meeting.

AI will also be integrated into live translation features, enhancing the platform's global accessibility.

Zoom is also upgrading its web interface to feature its AI companion more prominently. Additionally, other AI-powered tools, such as a writing assistant for drafting emails and documents, as well as a deep research feature, will be introduced.

Additionally, Zoom will allow users to create custom AI agents with support for Model Context Protocol (MCP), higher bit rates, and 60fps for Zoom meetings. The company is also launching a new Zoom video management tool to help users manage video assets more efficiently.