23/11/2023, 20:09 Extra help without the headcount: Why an AI assistant is your new best friend | Zoom Blog

AI COMPANION

Extra help without the headcount: Why

an AI assistant is your new best friend
Mahesh Ram
November 15, 2023 ∙ 7 min read
Head of AI Products & Revenue
Accelerator

If you own a small or midsize business (SMB), chances are, you and your team wear a
lot of hats. Time and resources are luxuries you don’t always have, making it hard to
feel productive some days. Meet Zoom AI Companion, our generative AI assistant that
helps you get time back in your work day without adding to your headcount. No matter
if you’re a solopreneur, own a small family company, run a thriving agency, or are the IT
manager at a large enterprise organization, we believe everyone should experience
the benefits of AI. To help with this, AI Companion is available at no extra cost for paid
users on eligible plans* and can be used by businesses of all sizes, without a
minimum number of licenses.

(Have a Zoom Basic account? You can upgrade your account to access more of what
Zoom has to offer, including AI Companion, for as little as $12.49 per month with our
Pro annual plan!)

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Grow your business. Shrink your to-do list

Implementing AI tools for your business may sound a little daunting without an IT team
to help you out. But the truth is, using AI Companion is as simple as logging in to the
tools you already know and love. From summarizing meetings to in-meeting questions
to suggesting chat responses and email replies, our AI Companion is natively
integrated into the solutions you use for day-to-day business.

Still exploring the benefits of generative AI? Want to know how it could work for a team
of two or a 300-person firm? Keep reading to learn how an AI assistant can help you
maximize productivity no matter the size of your business.

Zoom AI Companion for the solopreneur

Solopreneurs are no strangers to juggling tasks, but when you’re a party of one, it’s
hard to find the time to market your services and still deliver exceptional customer
support. If you need another pair of hands but can’t afford to hire extra help, an AI
assistant may just be the best friend you never knew you needed. Our AI companion
can be your notetaker or help with drafting emails, composing chats, or catching you
up on any meetings you may have missed.

AI Companion is available with eligible paid Zoom user accounts at no extra cost,* so
small and midsize business owners can take advantage of the increased productivity
that AI has to offer. We’ve made it easy to minimize the repetitive tasks and focus more
on what matters.

How AI Companion works for small

marketing agencies

Zoom AI Assistant for marketing

Small teams do big things, so it’s no wonder we’re constantly impressed by the
creativity and impact we see from our customers with as few as 2–10 employees. That’s
why we want to help you capture the creative sparks in real-time — without
distractions.

Imagine a brainstorming session where AI can prompt new ideas on your virtual
whiteboard. It’s like a built-in antidote for writer’s block. Need to send an update to a
colleague who couldn’t attend that meeting today? Forward a meeting summary
generated by AI Companion so they don’t have to watch a meeting recording and you
don’t have to summarize.

Meeting summaries has saved our team a ton of time. We feel that everyone is in
the loop without necessarily having to attend every meeting, which results in
better collaboration.
— Karl Morsgofian, CIO, Gainsight

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Explore AI Companion for fast-growing

start-ups
Start-ups move at warp speed and don’t have a minute to waste. When you have
distributed employees across multiple locations and time zones, effective
communication is paramount. A smart AI assistant can help you generate efficiency
when you need it most. Short on time? Write emails faster with the help of suggested
content. Late to a meeting? Make a query inside the meeting to catch up without
having to interrupt a colleague.

As you begin to execute new business strategies like virtual events, AI Companion is
your built-in event planner right inside Zoom Events. You can use it to draft your
invitation emails, help with attendee registrations, ticketing communications, and
more. Why get buried in administrative tasks when you can automate the heavy lifting?

What can an AI assistant do for a 100-

person law firm?
We know SMB leaders need to not only collaborate more effectively but also free up
more time to focus on decision-making, creative ideation, and activities that move the
needle. With 100 employees or more, keeping teams up to date can be challenging.
Lean on AI Companion to summarize large chat threads in seconds, or catch you up if
you need to join a meeting late or briefly step away.

Zoom’s AI Companion exemplifies our vision for enhanced collaboration and

innovation. With automated, detailed meeting summaries, it streamlines
information sharing and boosts productivity. This inclusion in our Zoom plan not
only improves efficiency but also yields significant cost savings, reflecting our
commitment to a smarter, more connected future.
— John Georgatos, CIO, Mike Morse Law Firm

Smart AI assistants help uncover new

efficiencies in 200+ person businesses

Zoom AI Companion smart assistant

The rise of remote and hybrid work means employees are often distributed across the
globe. Communicating with overseas vendors and team members can be challenging
in multiple regions, especially as your business grows to 200 employees or more. This
makes it more important than ever to have an AI tool that is built for multiple languages
and enables communication across geographies.

Luckily, AI Companion already supports in-meeting questions for English and an

additional 7 foreign languages in preview.

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It will soon support a total of 33 languages for both meeting summaries and in-
meeting questions, so your global team can benefit by getting caught up on that
crucial meeting. And with Meeting coach’s speech analytic features coming soon,
hosts can get feedback on how well they engaged meeting participants with filters, talk
speed, talk-listen ratio, and more

The AI Companion tool that scales as your

business grows
The evolution from a small- to medium-sized business can bring lots of excitement
and revenue but headaches as well. When you’re in a period of rapid growth, you need
a solution that scales with your business. AI Companion is built to support growing
businesses and large organizations. It can help teams as small as two or large
enterprises keep up with revolving chat messages and missed meetings. You’ll love
having more freedom to work on what matters most and spend less time catching up.

Breeze through your workday

Customer loyalty is the backbone of small and medium businesses, as 59% of
customers say they’ll switch to a new brand after just one or two bad experiences.
We’re here to help your business grow by giving you more time to focus on creating,
selling, and marketing your services to better serve your customers. AI Companion
isn’t just another tool in your toolbox—it’s a vital part of our all-in-one intelligent
collaboration platform. We’re making connecting easier, more immersive, and more
dynamic for businesses and individuals. Discover how our smart AI Assistant can help
your business grow.

*Note: Included at no additional cost with the paid services assigned to Zoom
accounts. AI Companion may not be available for all regions and industry verticals.

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