Zoom adds new functionality to Zoom Spaces with AI-driven tools, collaborations with HP and Google among others, and support for hybrid workplaces.
Zoom announces a series of new features for Zoom Spaces. The hybrid collaboration platform will receive photo check-in, AI support in meeting rooms, and integrations with hardware from Cisco, Meta, and Logitech. The updates focus on more efficient office work and more inclusive collaboration, both remotely and in the office.
Check-in
With Zoom Spaces, Zoom aims to seamlessly combine hybrid and office work, something that in practice is still not so obvious. Visitors can now check in for a Zoom meeting based on a previously uploaded photo, without a QR code or registration code. This feature is expected in September.
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Additionally, the Workspace Reservation tool, supplemented with AI Companion, helps employees plan office visits. The system makes suggestions based on meetings and the presence of colleagues. Name tags automatically add name plates to participants in Zoom Rooms and link speakers to transcripts and AI summaries.
The Voice Recorder with AI Companion is now also available in Zoom Rooms. This tool creates transcripts, summaries, and action lists from meetings, even without online participants. Content on whiteboards or shared screens is automatically captured. Participants can easily claim meeting data and transfer it to their account via a QR code or mobile link.
Hardware Integrations
Zoom also announces collaborations with Cisco, HP, Meta, and Logitech to better align software and hardware. Zoom Rooms will soon work on Cisco devices such as Room Bar and Desk Pro and the latest meeting room equipment from Logitech, such as the Rally Bar with AI cameras and the Rally Board 65.
New Dimension
With help from Meta, HP, and Google, Zoom wants to take hybrid meetings to a new dimension. Zoom Meetings is coming to Meta Quest headsets. Users can thus participate in meetings while using other apps or being fully immersed in VR. The release is scheduled for July.
Finally, Zoom also wants to support Beam, the joint initiative of HP and Google. The goal is to make hybrid meetings feel lifelike with realistic 3D representations. For this, you do need space to place a 65-inch ‘chatbox’ with cameras, projectors, and microphones.