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Day: September 17, 2025
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Zoom initiated a significant advancement in virtual meetings on September 17, 2025, by announcing the upcoming launch of a “photorealistic” avatar feature to enhance user experience. This functionality will allow participants to appear professionally polished, even if they are not camera-ready, reports 24brussels.
The feature, which will be available to Workplace users from December, enables users to create an AI avatar based on a photo they upload or take directly within the app. The avatar will not only mimic the user’s appearance but also track their movements during meetings, adapting to their actions as they speak or move around their screen.
Prior to this update, Zoom had already allowed users to deliver pre-recorded messages using AI avatars. The new feature advances this concept by allowing individuals to present themselves as AI clones during actual meetings. In a June 2024 interview, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan envisioned a future where users have digital twins, AI agents that utilize their likenesses to fulfill tasks such as attending meetings and handling emails.
As Zoom rolls out this innovative feature, it has committed to implementing safeguards to prevent misuse. Chief Product Officer Smita Hashim indicated that the platform will employ live camera authentication to verify the identity of users against the images they upload. Additionally, there will be visible notices during meetings to indicate when an AI avatar is in use. Hashim emphasized that this feature remains under development and may undergo modifications before its official release.
Alongside the photorealistic avatar feature, Zoom is introducing real-time voice translation capabilities, which will enable participants to hear speakers in their preferred languages during meetings. The initial version of this feature will support languages including English, German, Chinese, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian.
Furthermore, Zoom is updating its AI assistant, expanding its functionality to allow users to take the assistant to in-person meetings, where it will provide note-taking services. This development comes as part of Zoom’s broader efforts to enhance the user experience and integrate AI capabilities into its platform.
These advancements reflect Zoom’s commitment to remain at the forefront of video conferencing technology, dramatically transforming the nature of virtual interactions for users around the globe.