Dive Brief:
- Zoom plans to focus on customizing and monetizing its generative AI assistant platform, Zoom AI Companion, this year, CEO Eric Yuan said Monday, speaking during the company's Q4 2024 earnings call, for the period ending Jan. 31.
- Yuan pointed out several ways to monetize the company's AI capabilities, such as building customized versions of Zoom AI Companion for customers which can leverage in-house data.
- The company's AI offering, introduced in September as a revamped version of Zoom IQ, has created 7.2 million meeting summaries and reached 510,000 accounts as of Dec. 31, CFO Kelly Steckelberg said during the call.
Dive Insight:
In shaping its post-pandemic growth strategy, Zoom has focused on adding new features and services onto its enterprise bundle.
AI Companion was added at no cost for enterprise customers. Its arrival coincided with an industrywide push to embed AI capabilities into software platforms.
Zoom now plans to build on existing features to support users through AI.
"We are hard at work developing new AI capabilities to help customers achieve their unique business and objectives," said Yuan.
Zoom posted $4.5 billion in revenue for the full fiscal year 2024, up 3.1% year over year. The growth rate is a far cry from the astronomical boost Zoom experienced in 2020 as remote work pushed rapid adoption of the company's flagship video communication solution. The company posted 326% year-over-year revenue growth for its 2021 fiscal year.
By 2023, Zoom growth had decelerated as customers rationalized hybrid work tools, companies returned to the office and economic conditions made enterprise leaders watch software spending more closely. The company trimmed its workforce by 15%, laying off about 1,300 workers last year. The firm also trimmed 150 positions at the start of the year.
“We are much better positioned than we were one year ago,” Yuan said. “Our platform moat is deeper, our Contact Center offering is more robust, and our go-to-market teams are primed with defined goals and sharpened expertise to drive growth and empower our customers.”
