Customer Story
How Zoom supercharged its AI Companion 2.0 with Perplexity’s API
"We're excited to partner with Perplexity to build on our AI Companion experience. With its API, we are able to extend AI Companion's knowledge federation to include up to date web information without users having to shift through multiple links, right from inside a meeting or within workflows across Zoom Workplace, saving time and increasing the accuracy of responses."
Xuedong Huang Chief Technology Officer, Zoom
The Task
Transforming Zoom Workplace into an all-in-one platform with native AI features
Like most operators working at high-growth software companies, Will Siegelin, Senior Product Manager of AI Products & Responsible AI at Zoom, wears many hats. But one of his primary responsibilities is empowering users to get more work done in Zoom Workplace. One opportunity he saw was enabling in-platform search instead of requiring users to leave the app for a separate search engine.
There was just one catch: Zoom AI Companion still needed web access. The model initially ran off internal documentation. This knowledge base was extensive, but without in-platform access to external data, users still needed to leave Zoom Workplace to find most answers.
As Will points out, “The thing that frustrates folks the most when they’re utilizing AI is when it says, ‘I don’t know that answer.’” So, Zoom started looking for a best-in-class partner to fill AI Companion’s knowledge gaps by:
Streamlining Workflows
When users can easily pull external knowledge without exiting the workplace app, they maintain focus on the task at hand and complete their work faster. After context-switching, it can take an average of 23 minutes to regain focus.
Avoiding Hallucinations
In one study, 93% of people said they believe AI hallucinations can cause harm. With thousands of companies relying on its platform, Zoom can’t afford to use AI that presents misinformation as fact.
The Zoom team already used Perplexity. So, when Will learned Perplexity offered an API, he knew they had found the data source needed to strengthen their AI Companion product.
The Solution
Integrating the Perplexity API for native search in Zoom’s unified UX
Perplexity’s API is just what Zoom needed to enable search within its platform without a time-consuming, expensive in-house build.
Will notes that the API allowed his team to create a unified user experience so teams can easily “tackle core challenges.” With AI-powered meeting summaries and in-app search added to the existing stack of features like focus mode and team chat, Zoom is equipped to become an all-in-one tech stack for the modern workplace. The integration also unlocked key benefits:
Streamlining workflows with Zoom’s powerful AI Companion
With the Perplexity API, Zoom offers native search in AI Companion 2.0. ”Perplexity opens Zoom to knowledge beyond its four walls,” Will adds. Now, the platform’s users can ask any question and trust that AI Companion will give them the right answer.
In other words, every piece of information you could ever need to complete the task at hand is available directly in Zoom.
Building user trust with accurate, secure search
Will points out that with the Perplexity API, Zoom “flexed and expanded” its capabilities, taking on more responsibilities in a person’s workday and providing “grounded responses” to questions people may have. Rather than waiting for responses from others, people can self-serve with the API for significant time savings. Critically, Will has complete confidence that Zoom users get accurate results.
In-Platform Search is Trustworthy and Consistent
Because Perplexity isn’t prone to the usual LLM hallucinations, Zoom users don’t have to worry that incorrect answers are being portrayed as hard facts. During one search, Will got an unexpected response from the AI about a Zoom partner. Following Perplexity’s citation, he discovered an inaccurate article about that company. Learning this, his team reached out to correct the misinformation, increasing the partner’s trust in Zoom.
Having the internet at your fingertips is one thing, but trusting AI-generated results is something far greater. As Will puts it: “Consistency drives trust. When you’ve got that day in and day out, you build a habit. And that’s exactly what Perplexity has created at Zoom.”
The Result
Streamlining workflows and leading the pack with in-platform AI
Now that Zoom’s AI Companion is embedded with Perplexity via the API, user workflows are streamlined across the board — Will and his Zoom colleagues’ workstreams included.
Rather than waiting for responses to information requests or going on deep internet searches, users get access to the information they need right in Zoom Workplace without having to leave the platform. As a result, there’s less context-switching and significantly less time wasted.
Perplexity’s API also gives Zoom a competitive edge over the hundreds of remote work tools in the marketplace — before in-app AI search becomes the industry standard. “Implementing AI search early was extremely important for us for building trust with users who are just getting comfortable with AI,” Will says. “And Perplexity was the ideal partner to make it happen.”
Just like Perplexity, Zoom aims to democratize AI. In October 2024, they rolled out AI Companion 2.0 to half a million paid Workplace accounts — at no additional cost. Next up, Will plans to add Tasks to the platform’s AI Companion, which will help users surface, track, and complete more actions across their Zoom Workplace. With the Perplexity API in their team’s corner, the team knows they can bring this feature to life faster and improve people’s work lives.
