Could Live AI Video Become The Next Zoom?
Video conferencing has become a mainstay of remote work in the post-COVID era. As businesses sought ways to communicate virtually, solutions like Zoom stepped up their game and became a go-to tool for many companies. It's no longer impossible to hold a digital business meeting with participants from different cities and time zones.
Examining the impact of video calls in enterprise growth, Zoom released a report in 2021 which revealed some interesting insights. Company executives in industries such as Healthcare (67% of respondents) and Technology (84% of respondents) reported massive successes following their decisions to adopt Zoom calls in lieu of physical gatherings.
While the ease of using video conferencing solutions like Zoom have boosted calls for the implementation of remote work or, at least, a hybrid working structure, there have been some concerns. A major limitation to the widespread adoption of video calls in the workplace is the absence of non-verbal signals, a feature that can easily be found in a personal interaction.
During a typical check-in virtual call, the participants can see themselves and speak in real time. However, Zoom calls are not designed for speakers to maintain eye contact with their audience or for their body language to be easily interpreted. Essentially, it's one face speaking to many other faces across the world, and that can be less engaging as a study has shown.
But what if there's a way for teams across time zones to communicate without worrying about things such as body language or language barriers? AI is leading the way in the live generative video game, and the AI-powered Live Camera tool by Akool is not to be underestimated. With exciting use cases ranging from digital avatar-based communication to live multilingual translations, virtual meetings can feel more natural now.
Developed using modern AI technologies including on-device 4D facial mapping, neural voice engines, and a context-aware rendering that can modify an avatar's body language based on audience feedback, Akool Live Camera treats viewers to hyper-realistic video content that is neither pre-recorded or scripted.
Beyond digital check-ins in a company, video conferencing can also be applied in some other cases. For instance, a C-level executive can lead a company-wide training session from their home office or even a coffee shop. Unlike the regular virtual meetings that are held over Zoom or Microsoft Teams, AI-powered live videos seek to transform video conferencing.
In cases where an American CEO on a Zoom call may rely on closed captions on Zoom to understand a Romanian client, Akool Live Camera simplifies things for everyone. It simply needs to adopt a life-like avatar of the Romanian and adjust their language to English. Additionally, the avatar can pass the human test by using gestures, body language, and other elements of human interaction.
Commenting on his company's latest AI-driven product, Dr Jiajun Lu, founder and CEO of Akool believes that they're doing more than just improving the way video calls are done. 'With Akool Live Camera, we're transforming how it's made,' he said in an interview.
In today's world of corporate communications, team members can no longer see video conferencing as solely a means of catching up on current projects or for strategizing new steps. AI has long been touted as a catalyst for significant change as exemplified in healthcare and manufacturing. It's time company-wide meetings get a taste of what AI is cooking.
AI Live Video technology can make it possible for a guest speaker to not only be heard by viewers across different time zones, but in their respective languages. Through AI-generated avatars, a speaker can share insights in English while the avatars immediately tweak the language to match viewers' diverse needs. Beyond real-time translation, the avatars can sync their lip movements at the right moment, making it difficult to tell that a human isn't speaking. 'This isn't just pre-recorded AI. It's responsive, expressive, and disrupts how humans show up in the real world,' Lu noted.
According to Grandview Research, the global AI video market size was estimated at $5.53 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 35.3% from 2024 to 2030, reaching $42.29 billion by 2030. The research firm also estimates the global digital avatar market size at $18.19 billion in 2023, with a projected CAGR of 49.8% from 2024 to 2030. This surge is being driven by demand for scalable communication tools that reduce localization costs, increase reach and personalize interactions.
For the Harvard Business Review, Dash Bibhudatta notes that as AI usage in the workplace continues to expand, team meetings will no longer be the same. He adds that AI can 'unlock infinite possibilities for team and organisation.' And that's what Akool's AI Camera is built on — expanding the possibilities of collaborations for employees.
Another interesting use case of AI Live Camera as demonstrated by Akool's newest tool is in company-wide training. Training sessions are crucial to business growth as they provide workers the opportunity to acquire new skills which can enhance their operations. Employee satisfaction and increased productivity are some of the obtainable benefits of workplace training.
Interestingly, more companies now prefer to deliver training using computer-based methods like videoconferencing. A recent Statista research found that the majority of US-based company-wide training sessions in 2024 were held online, with large corporations preferring a virtual classroom or webcast as a means of instruction.
Instead of a multinational company stretching its budget by scouting for multiple speakers fluent in different languages, an AI-led avatar of an instructor can deliver lectures to team members in Beijing, Paris, London and Montevideo using each region's most spoken language. All of this is done in real-time, ensuring that no region feels left out.
By eliminating the need for pre-recorded content, interpreters, or travel coordination, companies stand to save tens of thousands of dollars annually, especially when applied at scale across global teams. This means there's no need to spend time on pre-production or rehearsals, saving companies valuable time and money.
Of course, not all companies are ready to swap out human presence for digital avatars. Some worry about trust, emotional authenticity, or whether avatars might create an uncanny experience in high-stakes meetings. Others raise regulatory questions around disclosure and digital identity. These concerns are valid and may slow adoption in industries where personalization and nuance are critical.
But for anyone who doubts the ability of digital avatars to successfully handle discussions or training sessions, it's worth mentioning that Akool Live Camera reduces the likelihood of human error. While an AI avatar of a company executive speaks to employees across the world, said avatar will not succumb to human mistakes such as failing to unmute themselves, not being able to share screens, or maintaining eye contact. And though AI technology has not yet been perfected, it has proven to be a reliable alternative to humans in some instances. This is one of such scenarios.
Beyond the corporate landscape, AI digital avatars could become the next big thing in a field like customer experience. Imagine a digital avatar of a customer support worker attending to a client's complaint while delivering the non-verbal cues of a human being such as smiles and gestures. By personalizing interactions with customers, businesses are more likely to enjoy increased client satisfaction, among other returns on their investment. These outcomes are also possible in fields like sales and online learning.
Consider the experience of NongHyup Bank, one of South Korea's biggest financial institutions. In 2022, it added two AI avatars to its customer support team and tasked them with helping customers to find specific banking services that were right for them. The Korean bank's use case demonstrates the far-reaching potentials of AI avatars as a digital identity for every industry player.
Workplace communication has evolved from physical meetings to emails to Zoom calls and now AI-powered video calls. Akool Live Camera and other AI tools can serve as the next foundational layer for corporate communications, and Lu agrees with this assertion. He noted that 'the future of AI video generation isn't just digital — it's dynamic, avatar-driven, and universally accessible in real time.'
And that's what matters. Global teams should be able to hold strategy sessions, partake in employee training, and other affairs without worrying about network delays, language barriers, and the lack of non-verbal signals.
Whether this becomes the next Zoom or the next enterprise add-on remains to be seen, but the economics of AI-powered avatars are beginning to shift the conversation from novelty to necessity. But the message from industry leaders like Lu is that what a human speaker can do on Zoom, a digital avatar can do three times more without the need for pre-production or a script.
The tides of videoconferencing are changing and steering companies into the next phase of communication is no other innovation than AI. As these AI-powered avatars become more lifelike, the real question isn't just about what they can do, but whether companies are ready to rethink who gets to speak, in what voice and for whom.
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