????5 AI Tools for Enhancing Online Meetings
Dileep Mishra
Building Gen AI tools for Solutions Engineers, Created Sales Engineering GPT
Have you noticed AI driven features in Zoom, Webex, Meet and Teams lately? Almost all of these can take meeting notes for you. Also, now there are hand gestures to raise your hand or express your reactions - gone are the days of simple emoji based reactions. Here we explore five key meeting functions - note-taking, meeting reactions, follow-up, background images, and noise cancellation—across popular platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, and Microsoft Teams.
1. AI-Powered Note-Taking Tools ??
Zoom: Zoom offers integrated AI transcription through Otter.ai, which provides real-time transcription and note-taking capabilities. These notes can be edited, shared, and searched, making it easier to capture and review key points from the meeting.
Google Meet: AI-driven note-taking is powered by Google Workspace’s Smart Canvas, where meeting notes are automatically created in Google Docs and linked to the Google Calendar event. This integration ensures that key discussion points, action items, and meeting outcomes are documented seamlessly.
Webex: Webex Assistant captures meeting highlights and generates real-time transcripts. The assistant also allows users to create post-meeting summaries and follow-up tasks directly from the conversation, streamlining the note-taking process.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams now integrates with Microsoft Copilot's AI capabilities, offering real-time transcription and note-taking. Notes can be accessed and edited during and after the meeting and are saved automatically in the Teams chat for easy access.
2. Meeting Reaction Tools ??
Zoom: Zoom has recently enhanced its meeting reactions by introducing AI-powered hand gesture recognition. Users can raise their hand or give a thumbs up physically, and Zoom will automatically recognize these gestures and display the corresponding reaction, such as a raised hand or thumbs-up emoji. This seamless integration allows for natural, non-verbal feedback, making meetings more interactive. Alongside gesture recognition, Zoom still offers a range of reaction emojis like clapping and heart symbols that can be selected manually during meetings.
Google Meet: Meet now features AI-driven hand gesture recognition as well. Users can give a thumbs up or raise their hand, and Google Meet will detect these gestures in real-time, displaying the appropriate emoji reaction on the participant's video tile. This makes participation more intuitive while maintaining the flow of conversation. Additionally, Google Meet provides traditional emoji reactions, such as smiley faces and applause, for manual selection.
Webex: Webex has been a pioneer in hand gesture recognition. The platform can detect gestures like thumbs up, thumbs down, and clapping, automatically displaying the corresponding reaction on the screen. This intuitive interaction enhances engagement without disrupting the meeting. Webex also continues to offer a broad set of manual reaction options, including emojis and other non-verbal cues.
Microsoft Teams: I am still researching the hand gestures features for Teams - it seems it works great with MacOS Sonoma , but not for Windows devices.
3. Follow-Up Tools ??
Zoom: Zoom’s integration with platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot enables automated follow-ups. After a meeting, Zoom can automatically generate follow-up emails with summaries, action items, and links to the meeting recording, streamlining the post-meeting process.
Google Meet: Google Meet, integrated with Google Workspace, offers seamless follow-up through Google Tasks and Calendar. Action items can be directly added to tasks or calendar events, ensuring that follow-ups are scheduled and tracked effectively.
Webex: Webex Assistant can automatically create follow-up tasks based on the conversation, assign them to participants, and even set reminders. This ensures that all action items are documented and addressed promptly.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams integrates deeply with Copilot now, enabling users to convert meeting notes into tasks or follow-up reminders easily. Teams can also send automated follow-up emails summarizing key points and next steps.
4. Background Image Tools ??
Zoom: Zoom’s AI-powered background feature allows users to blur their background or choose from a wide array of virtual backgrounds. The AI automatically detects the user’s outline, ensuring a smooth and professional look even without a green screen.
Google Meet: Google Meet offers AI-enhanced background blurring and virtual backgrounds. The AI adjusts dynamically to different lighting conditions and movements, maintaining the illusion of a professional environment.
Webex: Webex provides advanced virtual background options, including blur and customizable images. The AI behind this tool ensures that the user remains in focus while minimizing distractions in the background.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams offers both background blur and customizable virtual backgrounds. The AI engine in Teams identifies the user's outline and applies the selected background smoothly, allowing for a more professional and distraction-free meeting experience.
5. Noise Cancellation Tools ??
Zoom: Zoom’s AI-driven noise suppression tool filters out background noise like keyboard typing, dogs barking, or traffic sounds, ensuring that the speaker's voice remains clear. This feature can be adjusted to different levels of suppression based on the meeting environment.
Google Meet: Google Meet offers an AI-based noise cancellation feature that effectively removes background noise, such as echoes, ambient noise, and other disruptions. This tool is particularly useful in ensuring clear communication in noisy environments.
Webex: Webex uses AI to distinguish between human speech and background noise, filtering out unwanted sounds in real-time. This feature ensures that meetings are not interrupted by common noises such as typing or doorbells.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams’ AI-powered noise suppression is highly effective in eliminating background noise, even distinguishing between speech and ambient sounds. The noise suppression level can be adjusted based on user preferences, making it versatile for different settings.
What about Mac users?
Well, MacOS users always get more - don't they? In addition to the OS agnostic features available in Zoom, Meet, Webex and Teams, MacOS has additional AI capabilities which integrate well with MacOS Sonoma. See the link below for all the goodies.
Please do note that many of these capabilities require macOS Sonoma or later on a Mac with Apple silicon, or macOS Sonoma or later on a Mac using Continuity Camera with iPhone 12 or later.
?? Dileep's Skeptical takeaway:
I am surprised to see most professionals - even in Software and Technology fields - are not using the newer AI powered tools. Some of you are not even turing your cameras on. It is 2024 folks, get into the new age - stop taking manual notes, stop raising your hand the old fashioned way, and for god's sake don't bore us with your regular stale background. Please spend 30 minutes researching the new online meeting features and even if you use ONE new tool, I will buy you coffee next time we meet.
References ??