Guidelines For Use Of Zoom AI Companion
As a tool that is still developing, users should be aware that it will make errors that require human correction. You are ultimately responsible for everything you create with AI. Please review and revise your output accordingly.
Launched in September 2023, Zoom’s AI Companion is an AI-powered assistant that helps users with meeting summaries, chat composition, and more. These Zoom AI Companion guidelines are a supplement to The New School’s Guidance for Generative AI for administrative staff and the Generative Artificial Intelligence | Guide To Teaching and Learning for faculty.
About Zoom AI Companion
What Does Zoom AI Companion Do?
Zoom's AI Companion provides real-time assistance in Zoom meetings by offering features such as meeting summaries, action item suggestions, and automated note-taking. The AI Companion can also answer questions based on live transcription, making meetings more efficient and inclusive.
Zoom does not use meeting content to train Zoom AI Companion, but it does save summary and recording information if enabled by the meeting host, and can email a summary post-meeting.
Eligibility
All faculty, staff, and students are eligible to use Zoom AI Companion.
How To Know if a Meeting Is Using AI Companion
A pop up message will display when you first join a meeting or when the AI Companion summary is started by the host. The AI button at the top of your Zoom window will also glow yellow to indicate that the feature has been enabled.
You should also see a pop-up disclaimer alerting meeting attendees that AI Companion will be used and providing the option to object to its use.
Considerations for Hosts
This section provides considerations for meeting hosts when enabling Zoom AI Companion as well as what to do before using it.
NOTE: This tool should not be used for any meetings that include attorneys or when confidential information will be discussed.
Accuracy will vary
Zoom AI Companion creates a summary and answers questions based on the transcript of the meeting, as well as the chat and documents shared in the meeting, depending on host settings.
As a tool still in development, at times it will make incorrect inferences, assumptions or guesses as to meaning and content of the meeting.
- Meeting hosts may choose to share AI-generated summaries of meetings, but should not rely on it for any official record without providing any needed corrections.
- It is the meeting host’s responsibility to review all recordings and summaries generated by Zoom for accuracy and completeness.
Other Considerations about Zoom AI Companion
- Meeting summaries and recordings may be subject to public records laws and discoverable in legal proceedings.
- Zoom states it does not use meeting content to train AI models, but data may be processed by third-party providers when using certain features.
- The New School reserves the right to modify AI Companion usage policies at any time.
Notification of AI Use to Attendees/Attendees’ Rights
- Attendees are notified via a pop-up if AI is enabled in meetings.
- By continuing to participate in the meeting, attendees consent to all aspects of the meeting being recorded.
- Attendees have the right to opt out of AI Companion use without penalty.
- The host must verbally inform attendees at the start of the meeting that Zoom AI Companion will be used and that the content may not be fully accurate.
- The host should ask if there are any objections to using AI Zoom Companion.
- If any attendee objects (verbally or via message), they should notify the host immediately and request that they turn it off.
Do not use AI bots (Third-party Transcription and Note-Taking Services)
- Hosts should not allow third-party Transcription and Note-Taking Services AI bots to attend meetings.
- If a meeting host notices the use of third-party AI bots, such as Otter.ai or Read.ai, by attendees, they should make an announcement at the beginning of the meeting instructing the attendees not to use these bots.
- The host may choose to remove the attendee’s AI bot and/or the attendee from the meeting if they fail to remove it upon host’s request.
Best Practices When Using AI Companion
Protect Data Privacy
- Do not use Zoom AI Companion in any clinical, telemedicine, or healthcare settings, such as during patient encounters.
- Zoom AI Companion features are approved at The New School ONLY for meetings where non-sensitive information – no PII, PHI or financial data – will be discussed or shared. Users are prohibited from using Zoom AI Companion for sharing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (SSNs, N-numbers, student Education Records), Protected Health Information (PHI) (medical records), or sensitive financial or business data.
- Hosts are responsible for preventing AI tools from sharing sensitive or private information.
Follow University Policies, Standards and Guidelines
- The New School community members who are granted permission to enable AI Companion in Zoom must use it in compliance with existing university policies including, but not limited to the Acceptable Use Policy and the standard for Handling Institutional Information and be aware of the sensitivity level of the data and subject areas discussed in meetings.
Research
If the researcher desires to use the Zoom AI Companion in any project involving human subjects, the project must have an Information Security and Privacy Office ( ISPO) approved Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol on record with the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY). If you have any questions about research involving human subjects, please contact the Human Research Protection Program at hrpp@newschool.edu.
Questions
Contact the Information Security and Privacy Office at ispo@newschool.edu with any questions or concerns.