Zoom adds AI-powered document editing feature to rival Microsoft Teams
Zoom Video Communications Inc. is bringing a collaborative document editing feature, Zoom Docs, taking on rivals like Microsoft Teams and Alphabet's Google Docs. This new tool will let users create and edit documents right within Zoom meetings, blending in info and AI-generated summaries from the meetings. With the acquisition of employee communication service Workvivo in April, Zoom is looking to grow its business tools beyond just video conferencing.
Zoom Docs: Take a look at the new features
Zoom Docs allows the creation of documents, editing, and collaboration features. Further, documents, tables, and other content can all be made, modified, and searched for within Zoom Meetings or the Zoom web and desktop apps. Users will also have customization options like drag-and-drop table blocks. In September, Zoom rolled out AI features such as call summarization and message drafting. These tools are included in paid plans at no extra cost.
Experimenting with novel features
To stay ahead in the game, Zoom is cooking up new features, as seen in recent patent filings. One patent granted this year shows that the company is working on adding interactive virtual objects into meetings for things like product ads or education. Another patent reveals a feature that scans "nonverbal cues" of meeting participants and offers prompts, like suggesting to call on someone who seems eager to speak.
Users reportedly prefer Zoom to Microsoft Teams
Currently, Zoom holds a 7% market share in the communication and collaboration software sector, while Microsoft Teams leads with a whopping 42%, as per industry analyst IDC. Over the past year, Zoom has been chatting with US and European Union regulators, raising concerns about Microsoft's preferential treatment of its product through design and price bundling. But Zoom executives and several financial analysts say that users still prefer Zoom's videoconferencing app over Teams.
