Extra help without the headcount: Why an AI assistant is your new best friend

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!)

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.

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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 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. 

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.