a collection of icons related to academic technologies on a blue background.

Zoom

Video Conferencing and Web Conferencing Service

Zoom AI Companion

Zoom AI Companion

What Is Zoom AI Companion?

Zoom AI AssistantZoom AI Companion is a generative AI digital assistant designed to improve productivity and collaboration within Zoom Meetings, Recordings, and Whiteboards.

  • Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence that can create new content—such as text, images, audio, or video—based on its training data.
  • Zoom AI Companion can produce meeting summaries, highlight key points in recordings, generate whiteboard content, and provide real-time assistance to meeting participants.

By default, Zoom AI Companion is off for SMU-licensed users and must be manually enabled if you wish to use it. It is unavailable for Zoom Basic accounts and Zoom Secure (HIPAA/GOV) environments.

Getting Started

Enabling Zoom AI Companion

  1. Sign In to your SMU Zoom account using the Sign In button above.
  2. Click on Settings in the left-hand panel.
  3. Near the top, locate the AI Companion settings.
  4. Toggle on the features you wish to use:
    • Meeting Summary
    • Smart Recording
    • Whiteboard Content Generation

Please Note: If you prefer not to use Zoom AI, ensure these toggles remain off.


Responsibilities as a Host

  1. Inform

    Inform participants if AI Companion features (Meeting Summary, Smart Recording, etc.) are enabled.

  2. Honor

    Honor requests from attendees to disable AI features if they are uncomfortable.

  3. Review

    Review all AI-generated content before sharing to ensure it is correct, clear, and does not disclose sensitive or confidential information.

Key Features & Tips

Meeting Summary

  • When hosting a meeting, you can start or stop the meeting summary in the in-meeting controls. (Or this can be set to start automatically in ).
  • Summaries capture the audio, images, and chat from the meeting, compiling them into an AI-generated document available only to the host.
  • Before sharing a summary, review it for accuracy, remove any sensitive data, and correct any errors.

Smart Recording

  • Enhances your cloud recording with smart chapters, highlights, action items, and host analytics (talk speed, filler words, talk-listen ratio, etc.).
  • Ideal for longer sessions (lectures, brainstorming, departmental meetings) to help viewers quickly find important content.
  • Always review the AI-generated chapters and notes before sharing the recording.

Whiteboard Content Generation

  • It allows you to generate ideas, refine existing content, and add objects to a canvas with just one click.
  • Enables faster brainstorming and visual collaboration.

Security & Privacy

Data Protection & Privacy

  • Approved AI Only: Zoom AI Companion is the only AI meeting assistant currently approved by SMU.
  • Restricted Data: Do not enable AI features if the meeting may include sensitive or protected data (e.g., Social Security numbers, health records, student PII, confidential research data).
  • Clinical/Research Meetings: Avoid using AI in clinical/telemedicine settings, IRB or ACUC meetings, or any setting where discussion involves privileged or highly sensitive content.

Retention & Deletion

  • Meeting Summaries and Smart Recordings are stored in your SMU Zoom account for 30 days; afterward, they move to the Zoom Trash for another 30 days before permanent deletion.
  • Host Accountability: Only the host can access these items initially and is responsible for any subsequent sharing. The meeting host is required to review any AI Generated content before sharing the summary with others.

SMU & Zoom Policies


Additional Resources

  • SMU OIT Zoom Service Page
    For questions about licensing, usage, and troubleshooting, please visit the Zoom Documentation and Training service page.
  • Zoom Accessibility
    Please review the resource page for information on inclusive meeting experiences and accessibility features.
  • How Zoom AI Companion Features Handle Your Data
    on data processing and privacy within Zoom.
  • Zoom's Guidelines & Policies
    Refer to Zoom's and for further information.
  • Do's and Don'ts of Zoom AI Companion
    OIT's with a number of best practices and things to keep in mind.

If you have any remaining questions or need assistance, please reach out to the IT Help Desk or consult official Zoom documentation.