Zoom Has Embarked on a Journey of Rebranding

News
September 5, 2023

Zoom's Latest Rebranding: AI Companion and Enhanced AI Features

Zoom has embarked on a journey of rebranding: In the competitive world of videoconferencing market, Zoom has embarked on a journey of revamping and rebranding its AI-powered features. One notable transformation is the makeover of its generative AI assistant, formerly referred to as Zoom IQ.

This development unfolds against the backdrop of recent controversy sparked by changes to Zoom’s terms of service. These changes had implied that Zoom could potentially utilize customers’ videos for the training of its AI tools and models. In response to the ensuing uproar, Zoom took steps to explicitly clarify its policy. It now firmly states that “communications-like” customer data will not be used to train AI applications and services, either for Zoom itself or its external partners.

The Software Freedom Conservancy, a nonprofit organization offering support and legal services for open source projects, had recently called upon developers to discontinue their use of Zoom due to these terms of service alterations.

Zoom, however, has emphasized its commitment to investing in AI-driven innovations that enhance user experiences and productivity, all while upholding the values of trust, safety, and privacy. In August, Zoom publicly declared that it refrains from employing any form of customer audio, video, chat, screen-sharing, attachments, or other communication-related customer content (such as poll results, whiteboards, or reactions) for the training of Zoom’s or third-party AI models.

Zoom AI Companion

Zoom’s AI Companion, formerly known as Zoom IQ, is undergoing a significant transformation. This AI-powered assistant, fueled by a blend of Zoom’s proprietary generative AI and AI models from leading vendors like Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic, is extending its reach across various facets of the Zoom ecosystem. It’s poised to make its presence felt in Zoom Whiteboard, Zoom Team Chat, and Zoom Mail.

One of the most noteworthy developments is the imminent arrival of a ChatGPT-like bot within Zoom. By spring 2024, users will have access to a conversational interface that enables direct interaction with the AI Companion. This means users can pose inquiries about previous meetings and chats and even delegate tasks to it.

For instance, users can inquire about project statuses, drawing insights from transcribed meetings, chats, whiteboards, emails, documents, and even third-party applications. During meetings, they can engage the AI Companion to catch up on critical points, generate and manage support tickets, and draft responses to inquiries. Furthermore, similar to the capabilities of Zoom IQ, the AI Companion will have the ability to summarize meetings, automatically identifying action items and presenting the next steps. This integration of AI promises to enhance productivity and streamline collaboration within the Zoom environment.

Starting next spring, Zoom’s AI Companion will introduce features that offer “real-time feedback” on participants’ presence in meetings, as well as coaching on their conversational and presentation skills. While some users might have reservations about these features due to privacy concerns, Zoom emphasizes that users can easily disable them at any time, providing control over their usage.

In Zoom Team Chat, users will soon have the option to summarize chat threads using the AI Companion, with plans to introduce auto-complete chat sentences and scheduling meetings from chat in early 2024. This aligns with features seen in Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

In Zoom Whiteboard, the collaborative whiteboarding tool, the AI Companion will enable image generation and template population starting in spring 2024. Although the image-generating model isn’t specified, it’s expected to produce results akin to text-to-image tools like OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 and MidJourney.

For Zoom’s email client, Zoom Mail, users will receive AI-generated email suggestions in early fall. Additionally, by spring 2024, Zoom users will be able to add meeting summaries to the platform’s note-taking app, Notes, and summarize text message threads and calls from Zoom Phone.

Most of these AI Companion features will be accessible from the Zoom app’s side panel, but they will be limited to paying Zoom customers once they are rolled out. This expansion of AI capabilities aims to enhance the user experience and productivity within the Zoom ecosystem.

Zoom Revenue Accelerator

In Zoom’s latest rebranding move, Zoom IQ for Sales is undergoing a transformation into Zoom Revenue Accelerator. Zoom IQ for Sales faced criticism upon its initial launch, with concerns raised about the accuracy of its sentiment analysis algorithms. Over two dozen rights groups urged Zoom to discontinue its exploration of what they deemed “inaccurate” and “under-tested” technology.

Rather than discontinuing Zoom IQ for Sales, Zoom has shifted its focus from sentiment analysis to more practical applications. This shift continues with the introduction of several new features to Zoom Revenue Accelerator. One notable addition is a “virtual coach” designed to simulate conversations for onboarding and training sales team members. This virtual coach can evaluate salespeople’s performance in pitching products using various sales methodologies, akin to existing AI-powered sales training platforms on the market. This rebranding represents Zoom’s effort to enhance its sales-oriented features and provide more effective tools for sales teams.

Revenue Accelerator is set to introduce deal risk signals, allowing sales team members to utilize a rules-based engine to send alerts if a deal shows no progress within a specified timeframe. Additionally, a new feature called “discover monthly” will monitor mentions of competitors during calls and provide monthly summaries of these trends.

These updates from Zoom come at a crucial juncture for the tech giant. In the fourth quarter of the 2023 financial year, Zoom reported its first quarterly loss of $108 million since 2018. In response, Zoom initiated significant cost-cutting measures in February, including laying off approximately 1,300 employees, attributing these actions to decreased demand post-pandemic and heightened competition from rivals like Microsoft, Cisco, Webex, and Slack. (Zoom had experienced substantial growth during the pandemic as videoconferencing became a vital tool during social distancing measures.)

Despite these challenges, Zoom’s financial outlook has brightened. In the quarter ending in April, the company, after implementing cost-saving measures, reported slower but still positive quarterly growth at 3%, with a slight decline in online revenue. Furthermore, Zoom raised its annual revenue forecast to a range of $4.47 billion to $4.49 billion, marking a 2% increase from the previous estimate of $4.44 billion to $4.46 billion. This demonstrates the company’s resilience and adaptability in a changing market landscape.

Scenario 1: Industry-Wide Adoption of AI Sales Tools

In this scenario, the rebranding and enhancements to Zoom’s AI-driven Revenue Accelerator are met with widespread success and positive reception within the sales and customer relationship management (CRM) industry. Zoom’s virtual coaching, deal risk alerts, and competitor tracking features prove to be highly effective tools for sales teams, significantly improving their productivity and sales performance. As a result, other companies in the industry start recognizing the value of AI-driven sales assistance tools.

Outcome: The industry experiences a surge in the adoption of similar AI-powered sales tools and virtual coaching platforms. Companies begin investing in AI solutions to enhance their sales processes, leading to increased competition among AI providers in this space. This scenario fosters innovation and drives the development of even more advanced AI capabilities for sales teams.

Scenario 2: Heightened Scrutiny on AI Ethics and Privacy

Alternatively, the expansion of Zoom’s AI Companion and Revenue Accelerator features, especially the real-time feedback and deal risk alerts, raises concerns about ethics and privacy. Users and privacy advocates express worries about AI monitoring and providing feedback on their conversations and presentations during meetings. This scenario triggers discussions around the ethical implications of AI in business communications and data privacy.

Outcome: Regulatory bodies may become more involved in overseeing the use of AI in sales and communication tools. Companies using AI-powered sales tools face increased scrutiny and must ensure compliance with data privacy regulations. Additionally, this scenario may prompt other tech companies to reevaluate their AI offerings and consider the ethical implications, potentially leading to more transparent and privacy-focused AI solutions in the industry.

The impact of this news on the industry will depend on how well Zoom addresses privacy concerns and the actual effectiveness of its AI-driven features. It underscores the importance of balancing technological innovation with ethical considerations in the development of AI tools for business applications.

Conclusion

Zoom’s rebranding and updates to its AI-powered features have the potential to impact the videoconferencing and sales industries in several ways. These updates offer enhanced productivity and sales performance for businesses, leading to increased adoption of AI-powered sales tools. However, there are also concerns about ethics and privacy, which may trigger discussions and increased regulatory scrutiny. It is important for companies to find a balance between technological innovation and ethical considerations when developing AI tools for business applications. As the industry evolves, it will be interesting to see how these developments shape the future of videoconferencing and sales.

How do you think AI-powered tools like Zoom’s AI Companion and Revenue Accelerator will impact the way businesses communicate and sell products? In your opinion, what measures should companies take to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI in their communication and sales processes? Share your insights below.