Zoom is the latest productivity app that uses artificial intelligence. The company published a blog on Monday announcing a partnership to OpenAI, which brings AI-generated summaries and message drafts to the Zoom IQ AI-powered assistant.
Zoom IQ already has the ability to create chapters and highlight recordings for meetings. Zoom is adding more features to the assistant, such as the ability to catch up with meetings you missed. This means that you can ask Zoom IQ to summarize what you missed and “ask additional questions.
Zoom IQ also has the ability to generate whiteboards based upon text prompts, provide recaps of meetings, and summarize threads in Zoom Team chat. Zoom IQ, similar to the ChatGPT bot that is coming to Slack allows you to generate replies to your colleagues via AI. According to the company, it will roll out AI-powered email drafts and message creation on an invitation-only basis starting April. However, it will expand its Zoom IQ meeting summary features.
Zoom’s plans for AI development likely stem from the new features that its main competitors, Microsoft and Google, have added to their productivity apps. Google will bring the ability to create text and images in Docs and Gmail. Microsoft 365 is testing Copilot an AI assistant for Office documents. It uses the existing data of the company or organization to train and determine what is most important.
Zoom is not only competing with Google and Microsoft AI, but also has added a variety of capabilities to make it more of a one-stop productivity app. Zoom’s new Calendar and Mail app, for instance, allows you to access your calendar and email directly from Zoom.
Zoom’s new Mail app allows you to connect your Gmail address or Microsoft 365 account. The new Calendar integration lets you view third-party calendars directly from Zoom. You can access both these features via the sidebar. This allows you to email meeting hosts to let them know you are late or view details about upcoming meetings.
Zoom also added Huddles to its platform. This is a video-enabled virtual coworking space that allows you to chat and ask questions, or even have a quick video call with a colleague. This feature is now available worldwide, and users can request early access.
