Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Uses AI Avatar for Quarterly Earnings Call, Emphasizing Company's Commitment to Advanced Communication Tools

CEOs are increasingly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their presence in important business communications. Following Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's use of an AI avatar on an investor call earlier this week, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan also adopted this technology for his quarterly earnings call. Yuan used his custom AI avatar via Zoom Clips, the company’s tool for creating asynchronous videos, to deliver initial remarks. "I am proud to be among the first CEOs to use an avatar in an earnings call," the avatar said, reflecting Yuan's excitement about the technology. "This is just one example of how Zoom is pushing the boundaries of communication and collaboration. However, we recognize that trust and security are paramount. Therefore, we have implemented strong safeguards to prevent misuse, protect user identity, and ensure responsible use of avatars." Yuan has been a vocal advocate for integrating avatars into meetings, emphasizing their potential to improve efficiency and engagement. He has previously discussed Zoom's goal of creating digital twins of users, a concept that other tech leaders, such as the CEO of AI-powered transcription service Otter, are also exploring by training their own avatars to handle routine tasks. To further this innovation, Zoom announced that the custom avatar add-on feature will be made available to all users this week. This move underscores the company's commitment to leveraging AI to transform the way people communicate and collaborate online. While the use of AI avatars is still novel, it represents a significant step toward more interactive and efficient virtual meetings.