Zoom partners with Anthropic and invests in the company
Zoom plans to use Anthropic’s Claude assistant in customer-facing AI products, beginning with the Zoom Contact Center portfolio.
Quick answer
What did Anthropic announce about its partnership with Zoom?
Anthropic announced a partnership under which Zoom will use Claude to develop customer-facing AI products focused on reliability, productivity and safety. The first integration is planned for the Zoom Contact Center portfolio. Anthropic also said Zoom Ventures invested in the company as part of the relationship.
Key takeaways
- Zoom will use Claude to build customer-facing AI products focused on reliability, productivity and safety.
- The first Claude product integration will be in the Zoom Contact Center portfolio.
- Zoom plans to combine its own technology with outside models, including Claude, to address different customer needs.
- Anthropic said Zoom Ventures made an investment in the company.
Anthropic announced a partnership with Zoom under which the communications software company will use Claude to develop customer-facing AI products. Anthropic said the work will focus on reliability, productivity and safety.
Zoom also made an investment in Anthropic through Zoom Ventures, according to the announcement. Anthropic did not provide financial details in the announcement.
Claude in Zoom products
Anthropic described Claude as an AI assistant built with Constitutional AI. Under the partnership, Zoom will use Claude as one component of its approach to developing AI products for customers.
The first product integration is planned for the Zoom Contact Center portfolio. Anthropic said Claude will be used there to improve the experience for end users and support the performance of contact center agents.
Anthropic said Zoom will follow a federated approach to AI. That approach will combine Zoom’s own technology with external models, including Claude, to serve different customer needs. The announcement did not identify additional Zoom products that will receive Claude integrations.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the collaboration would bring what he described as robust and steerable AI to more people in the workplace. He also said the companies intended to develop AI-enabled products that emphasize safety, helpfulness and productivity.
Zoom Ventures investment
Alongside the product partnership, Anthropic announced that Zoom Ventures had invested in the AI company. The announcement did not state the size or terms of the investment.
Anthropic said the companies share an interest in developing customer-focused AI products grounded in trust and security. It also said the partnership would combine the companies’ respective expertise to incorporate AI into applications designed around customer needs.
The investment and product work were presented as parts of the same relationship. Anthropic identified the Zoom Contact Center integration as the first planned deployment of Claude but did not provide a release schedule or describe how the assistant would appear within the product.
Partnership priorities
Anthropic’s announcement repeatedly identified safety and practical workplace use as priorities for the collaboration. It said Zoom’s use of multiple technologies would allow the company to apply different models to different customer requirements.
The company also connected the planned Contact Center integration to two specific objectives: improving the end-user experience and helping contact center agents perform their work. No further technical details about that integration were included.
The announcement covers both Zoom’s planned use of Claude and Zoom Ventures’ investment in Anthropic. It does not name other initial integrations beyond Zoom Contact Center or provide additional investment information.
Source: Anthropic’s “Zoom partnership and investment in Anthropic” announcement, published May 16, 2023.
Frequently asked questions
- What did Anthropic announce with Zoom?
- Anthropic announced a partnership in which Zoom will use Claude to build customer-facing AI products. Anthropic also said Zoom Ventures invested in the company.
- Where will Zoom first integrate Claude?
- Anthropic said the first integration will occur in the Zoom Contact Center portfolio.
- How does Zoom plan to use AI models?
- According to Anthropic, Zoom will take a federated approach that combines its own technology with other models, including Claude, for different customer needs.
- What priorities did Anthropic identify for the partnership?
- Anthropic said the planned products will focus on reliability, productivity and safety. It also described trust, security, helpfulness and customer needs as priorities.