Video conferencing platform Zoom is taking a significant leap forward in leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance user productivity. The company's AI Companion is set to receive a major upgrade at the end of this month, enabling it to identify and perform tasks on users' behalf. This "agentic" upgrade will allow Zoom's AI Companion to schedule follow-up meetings, generate documents from meetings, and create video clips, all within a new Tasks tab in the Workspace.

The AI Companion upgrade is part of a broader effort by Zoom to integrate AI across its products and interactions. According to Smita Hashim, Zoom's chief product officer, the goal is to make AI a ubiquitous and helpful tool that enables users to get more work done. "We see AI stretching across every part of every product and interactions in ways that is really helpful and useful so that it can help you do more," Hashim said in an interview with The Verge.

In addition to the AI Companion upgrade, Zoom is also introducing several new features designed to enhance productivity. A new voice recorder for the Zoom Workplace mobile app will record, transcribe, and summarize in-person meetings when it launches this month. Furthermore, Zoom is rolling out live notes in May, which will generate real-time summaries during Zoom meetings and phone calls. These features will be available at no additional cost to Zoom Workspace users.

For users looking for even more advanced AI capabilities, Zoom is launching a $12/month Custom AI Companion add-on next month. This add-on includes access to Zoom's custom avatar feature, which generates an AI version of the user that can be used to send messages to the team. Additionally, Zoom is adding generic avatar templates to its platform at no added cost.

The integration of AI across Zoom's products and interactions has significant implications for the future of work and productivity. As AI becomes more pervasive and capable, it is likely to fundamentally change the way we approach tasks and collaborate with others. With its latest upgrades, Zoom is positioning itself at the forefront of this trend, providing users with powerful tools to streamline their workflows and get more done in less time.

As the technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Zoom's AI Companion and other AI-powered features are adopted and utilized by users. One thing is clear, however: the future of work is becoming increasingly intertwined with AI, and Zoom is leading the charge.