News
In Brief
- Zoom announces AI Companion 3.0, launching today, with custom AI agents, expanded data connectors and integrations with Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.
- Custom AI Companion add-on debuts today, letting IT teams build and deploy tailored AI agents in Zoom AI Studio, connected to internal knowledge bases and apps via Model Context Protocol.
- New collaboration features across Zoom Workplace, including AI avatars, real-time translation, embedded apps in chat and a Hub knowledge Q&A launching in November, further Zoom's shift toward an AI-first platform.
Zoom today announced an expansion of its workplace AI with AI Companion 3.0, a major update available to Zoom customers today. The release aims to address a core workplace challenge: the constant app-switching that fragments productivity and breaks focus. The new features bring custom AI agents, support for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, and enhanced collaboration tools designed to keep users in their flow. Cisco WebEx integration is planned later in the year.
Table of Contents
- AI Companion 3.0: From Summaries to Custom Agents
- Custom AI Agents and Expanded Integrations
- New Features in Zoom Workplace
- Part of Zoom's AI-First Transformation
- Building the AI-Powered Workplace
AI Companion 3.0: From Summaries to Custom Agents
The new release pushes Zoom's assistant beyond note-taking and summaries into task automation and tailored workflows, giving workers the ability to create AI that understands their specific needs and processes.
Custom Agents
The Custom AI Companion add-on lets IT teams build and test their own AI agents in Zoom AI Studio, connecting them to knowledge bases and configuring tools using Model Context Protocol (MCP). This means organizations can finally have AI that speaks their language and understands their unique workflows.
Cross-Platform Integration
AI Companion 3.0 can now run inside Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, with Cisco WebEx support coming later. For hybrid organizations using multiple platforms, this eliminates the frustration of having different AI capabilities depending on which meeting platform colleagues prefer.
Agent-to-Agent Collaboration
Agent-to-Agent (A2A) functionality will allow Zoom's AI to work alongside other systems, starting with ServiceNow AI Agents. This release is expected in December. Instead of manually coordinating between different tools, AI assistants can handle the handoffs.
Expanded data connectors for SharePoint and ServiceNow will improve the assistant's ability to surface relevant information, meaning fewer dead ends when searching for that crucial document or ticket update.
Custom AI Agents and Expanded Integrations
The standout addition is the Custom AI Companion add-on. Through Zoom AI Studio, administrators will be able to build and test their own agents, connect them to company knowledge bases and integrate external tools. The add-on supports Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing agents to connect to apps with minimal configuration.
This personalization goes beyond surface-level customization. As Zoom Chief Product Officer, Smita Hashim explained, the focus is on creating AI that truly knows its users: "It knows who you are, it knows your preferences, your interests and uses that information to improve your outcomes. Together, these capabilities enable Zoom AI Companion to effectively act on your behalf."
For organizations tired of generic AI responses that miss the mark, this represents a significant shift toward AI that actually understands context and company-specific nuances.
New Features in Zoom Workplace
Beyond AI Companion, Zoom announced substantial updates across its Workplace platform that address real collaboration pain points.
Meetings will gain photorealistic avatars that track user expressions — a feature Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has championed for over a year. Customizable waiting rooms with AI avatars and real-time voice translation will reduce language barriers that often slow down global teams. Zoom for Cisco Rooms enters beta in September, and higher-quality video features — including 60fps video and 4K content sharing — are due by December.
Zoom is also introducing a new group assistant called Zoom Meet, designed to streamline in-meeting interactions through voice and chat activation. As Teresa Larkin, head of Zoom Workplace and AI Product Marketing explained, "It can be activated through voice or chat... you could use it in team chat, or meetings chat by simply at-mentioning it." The assistant can handle room management tasks like controlling lights and temperature, sharing screens and creating whiteboards.
The new Hub Knowledge Q&A feature, arriving in November, addresses one of the most common workplace frustrations: knowing that information exists somewhere but being unable to find it quickly. Users will be able to query data across Zoom files and connected third-party sources from a single interface.
Zoom is also rolling out Video Management, a centralized hub for storing and managing video content from meetings, events and webinars. Designed for enterprises and educational institutions, it offers transcription, translation, analytics and integrations with major learning management systems.
Key AI Companion 3.0 Capabilities:
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Cross-platform note-taking | AI Companion captures notes and action items across Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet meetings. |
| Custom AI Agents | Through the Custom AI Companion add-on, IT teams can build, test, and connect tailored AI agents with organizational data and third-party tools. |
| Agent-to-Agent (A2A) | AI Companion can collaborate with other systems, starting with ServiceNow AI Agents, reducing context switching across platforms. |
| New Work Surface | A personalized interface in Zoom Workplace and web that surfaces tasks, insights, and relevant information in one place. |
| Real-time Voice Translation | Live translation of meeting speech into participants' preferred languages, improving cross-language collaboration. |
Part of Zoom's AI-First Transformation
These announcements represent the latest chapter in Zoom's strategic evolution from video conferencing tool to comprehensive workplace platform. In 2023, Zoom officially dropped "Video" from its name, marking a strategic pivot toward becoming an AI-first enterprise collaboration platform. This positioned the company to compete more directly with Microsoft and Google in workplace collaboration, productivity and communications.
Since then, Zoom has steadily expanded its platform to include chat, whiteboard, note-taking and workflow automation, while deepening integrations with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Asana and Trello. What started as a response to remote work necessity has become a broader reimagining of how workplace software should work together.
Building the AI-Powered Workplace
Throughout 2023 and 2024, Zoom accelerated this transition with a wave of new features. The company introduced Zoom Docs in October 2023 and Zoom Workplace in March 2024, unifying its portfolio into a single collaboration hub. In July 2024, Zoom launched Workflow Automation, a no-code tool that allows business users to streamline business processes without IT intervention.
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Alongside these launches, Zoom added over 40 generative AI features in 2024, spanning meeting summaries, automated workflows and proactive chat composition. Together, these updates reflect Zoom's strategy to become a comprehensive enterprise collaboration platform, moving well beyond its video-conferencing origins to address the full spectrum of workplace communication and productivity challenges.
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