Taking stock of Zoom's continued AI and CX progress after Zoomtopia 2024

Zoom recently held its annual Zoomtopia event. Here is my observer's take on it.

As expected, Zoom's AI Companion, the company's AI copilot, took center stage at the event with the unveiling of its version 2. This update adds several capabilities and the ability to access richer context from all previous conversations.

At the core of Zoom's Workspace strategy, the AI Companion is now active across more than 4 million accounts, up from 1.2 in August. Zoom also announced the upcoming ability to execute actions through add-on connectors, partnering with a solid lineup of application vendors set to launch next year.

While much of the industry grapples with AI usage pricing and managing costs, Zoom is doubling down on its bundled AI approach. The company reported a 30% reduction in the cost of offering its AI Companion service in just two quarters. It expects only a minor impact of 100 basis points on its global cost of goods sold (COGS) this fiscal year, shifting from 80% to 79%, with plans to return to 80% in the longer term.

Workspace is expanding with industry-specific editions, including Zoom Workspace for Healthcare and Zoom Workspace for Clinicians. Zoom Workspace for Frontline Workers, though not tied to a specific industry, is also part of this initiative.

The company has made significant strides in its platform strategy, and I continue to be impressed by the speed at which Zoom is launching new products and adding features. One data point stood out: Zoom Phone has achieved 19% penetration in its enterprise accounts.

On the customer service front, Zoom is steadily enhancing its CX solution. In its most recent quarterly earnings call, the company announced it had crossed the 1,000-customer mark. The Virtual Agent is gaining multi-intent handling, with a voice version slated for release next year. Zoom Quality Management will introduce Auto Quality Management, expected by the end of this year. I was particularly excited by the introduction of Zoom AI Intent Routing, as I believe we often underutilize AI's ability to uncover why customers are reaching out.

Zoom AI Expert Assist, the contact center agent copilot introduced last year with a robust feature set—including GenAI-enabled consolidation of customer information, automated disposition and summarization, and next-best actions—is now gaining suggested answers from knowledge bases and dynamic, step-by-step guides.

Looking ahead, I’d like to see Zoom take its Total Experience vision further by crafting a stronger, more cohesive narrative that ties together its various customer-facing capabilities beyond Zoom CX. Zoom Workspace facilitates the seamless sharing of customer communications across departments. The company offers tailored solutions for customer-facing roles, such as Zoom Revenue Accelerator, a conversation intelligence solution for sales, and the newly added Zoom Workspace for Frontline Workers. 

Additionally, Zoom has a real opportunity to double down on customer stories that showcase cross-departmental CX in action. Highlighting examples and use cases of how organizations leverage its platform to deliver seamless experiences across teams would go a long way.