Introduction: What Is Zoom AI Companion? 

Zoom AI Companion is a smart assistant built into Zoom. It helps with notetaking, making summaries, and answering questions during meetings. Instead of spending time writing notes, you can focus on talking and working together. The AI Companion works in Zoom Meetings (not Breakout rooms), Rooms, and Whiteboard sessions. 

• Meeting Summaries: After a meeting, Zoom can send a summary to your email, so you don’t have to remember everything. You can also get these summaries in your Zoom Portal at https://ksu.zoom.us/profile 
• In-Meeting Questions: If you join late or get distracted, you can ask the AI Companion to catch you up or answer questions about what’s happened so far. 

Example: Imagine you missed the first ten minutes of a department meeting. You can click “Ask AI Companion” and say, “Catch me up.” The assistant will give you a summary of what you missed. 

Resource: Getting started with Zoom AI Companion 

 

Module 1: Basics and Guidelines 

What Does Zoom AI Companion Do? 

• Records and summarizes meetings: You get a handy summary after the meeting, so you can review key points. 
• Answers questions in the meeting: You can ask about topics, action items, or definitions—great for students and staff. 

Example: During a staff meeting, someone asks, “What were the action items assigned today?” The AI Companion lists them out, making sure everyone’s on the same page. 

Privacy and Security 

• Zoom doesn’t use your meeting content to train its AI, and K-State has a BAA (Business Associate Agreement, a HIPAA contract for handling PHI - patient health info) and contract agreements to keep our data safe. 
• Be careful about what you discuss when using AI Companion. Don’t use it for sensitive topics like personal student info, confidential HR matters, or clinical data. 
• AI summaries and transcripts are stored for 30 days, then deleted. You can download recordings from your Zoom Portal if you want to keep them longer. 
• Everyone gets a notification when AI Companion is active, and it’s best to let participants know verbally also. 

Example: Before starting a class with AI Companion, the instructor says, “Just so everyone knows, Zoom’s AI features are on for today’s meeting.” 

Resource: How Zoom AI handles your data 

Protection of University records  

• Consider the nature of your meeting. When deciding whether to utilize the Zoom AI Companion, bear in mind that any recordings or summaries generated using these tools may be discoverable in the event of any dispute or litigation to which K-State is a party. 
•  Considering this, use caution in deciding whether to use the Zoom AI Companion, (i.e. recording, Smart Recording, or Meeting Summary) in meetings where particularly sensitive, privileged, or confidential data or information may be discussed. 
• Do not record or store any sensitive Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI), such as social security numbers (SSNs), student education records, dates of birth, medical records, or personal contact information. This includes PII, PHI, HIPAA, and FERPA related to research participants.  
• Be cognizant of the audience with whom meeting summaries and smart recordings are shared. 
• If you are creating records, remember that all university employees are responsible for managing the records in their custody. For questions regarding the maintenance, destruction, or preservation of university records, please contact the University Records Manager, Danielle Hall, at dnhall@ksu.edu.  

Your Responsibilities as a Host 

• Tell participants if you’re using AI Companion. 
• Check and edit any AI generated notes or summaries before sharing them. Make sure they’re accurate and clear. 
• Remove or hide any private or sensitive information in the summary before sending it out. 
• Double check action items and make sure responsibilities are assigned correctly. 
• If the summary contains links or attachments, test them to be sure they work. 
• Refer to K-State's Records Management guidelines https://www.k-state.edu/arm/records/topics/best-practices  
• Example: After a faculty meeting, you review the AI-generated summary and notice it includes a private student case. You edit the summary to remove that information before sharing. 

 

Module 2: Using AI Companion for Faculty and Staff Productivity 

Setting Up AI Companion in Zoom 

1. Go to your Zoom Portal (https://ksu.zoom.us/profile), sign in with your K-State eID, and click on “Settings” on the left hand side of the screen. 
2. Find the “AI Companion” tab to turn features on or off. Choose which features you want for each meeting.  Some settings are locked by K-State. 
3. Don’t set features to auto-start for every meeting unless you really need it. It’s better to enable them only when needed for privacy and transparency. 

Example: You’re hosting a committee meeting about sensitive research. You decide not to use AI Companion for this meeting to protect confidentiality. 

Turning AI Features On and Off During a Meeting 

• Click the “AI Companion” icon (sparkle/star) in Zoom to start or stop features like Meeting Summary. 

• You can Start and Stop the AI Companion via the buttons in the right hand panel

• Hosts can delete summaries after meetings if needed. 
• Participants can request that you turn off AI Companion, but only hosts can make the change. 
• AI Companion doesn’t record Breakout rooms. 

Smart Recording Features 

• Smart Chapters: AI divides recorded lectures or meetings into sections by topic, which can be helpful for finding information fast in longer meeting notes or lectures.
• Recording Highlights: AI marks important moments, so staff or students can review the most relevant parts. 
• Next Steps/Action Items: The AI lists tasks, assignments, or follow-ups mentioned during the session. 

Example: After a project planning meeting, the AI creates a list of tasks with due dates. It also marks key topics as the conversation changes. Staff use it to keep track of who’s doing what.  

Resource: How to use Smart Recordings and Chapters  

Meeting Summaries: Creating, Reviewing, and Sharing 

1. Start the meeting and activate AI Companion if it’s not set to auto-start. 
2. After the meeting, check the summary in your Zoom Portal or email.  Note that all hosts of the meeting receive the summary, so if you have co-hosts, they will also receive the notification.  You can set the option “Only meeting host” in your AI Companion settings.
3. Edit the summary to fix mistakes or add missing details. 
4. Share the final version with participants. 

Example: A professor uses the “Lecture Summary” template for a class meeting. After editing for accuracy, they send the summary to all students. 

Host Tips and Tricks 

• Set up your AI Companion preferences before meetings to save time. 
• Enable “automated notetaking” for regular meetings so you never miss important points. 
• Both the primary host and any assigned co-hosts can click the "AI Companion" icon in the meeting toolbar to start or stop features like Meeting Summary. 
• Define who receives the Meeting Summary in your Zoom Settings. The recommendation is to toggle the option to “Only meeting host” as any Alternate Host for your meeting rooms would get a summary as well. 
• 
• AI Companion can summarize meetings in several languages. The summary uses the language spoken by most participants. 
• Use specific prompts to get better answers from AI Companion (e.g., “List today’s action items and who’s responsible for each”). 
• Enable Smart Recording to get highlights, chapters, and summaries for easy review. 
• Use “Meeting Coach” metrics for self-improvement. It can track your speaking speed, talk-listen ratio, and more and provide feedback Learn more on How to use Meeting Coach. 

Example: Before a department meeting, the host sets up AI Companion to automatically start the summary and allow all participants to ask questions. 

 

Module 3: Using AI Companion as a Student or Meeting Participant 

Real-Life Scenarios for Students 

• Catching Up: If you join a class late, use the “Ask AI Companion” sidebar to get a summary of what you missed. 
• Clarifying Terms: Ask questions like “What does [concept] mean?” to get quick explanations. 
• Checking Assignments: Ask “What are the action items for this week?” to stay organized. 

Example: You lost focus during a lecture. You ask AI Companion, “What are the key definitions covered today?” The assistant provides a list so you can catch up. 

Learning and Reviewing After Meetings 

• Use Smart Chapters in recorded sessions to jump to the topics you need.  
• Create study guides by copying the AI summary into your notes or another app. 

Example: After class, you copy the AI summary into a document and use it to make flashcards for your next exam. 

Best Practices Checklist: Reviewing, Privacy, and Sharing 

• Review for Accuracy: Always check AI summaries and notes. Fix mistakes and check against official information (like the syllabus). 
• Protect Privacy: Don’t use AI Companion for sensitive or private topics. Remove confidential information before sharing summaries. 
• Sharing Content: Only share edited, approved summaries. Make sure links and attachments work. 
• Transparency: Tell participants when AI Companion is active. Everyone will see a notification, but a verbal reminder is helpful. 
• Records Management: Recognize guidelines for use of artificial intelligence (AI) with university-owned records and data. 
• Control Features: Know how to turn features on or off and ask the host to disable them if you’re uncomfortable. 
• Accuracy for Students: Use AI summaries as an aid, not a replacement for your own notes. 
• Missed Content: Remind the host to start the summary if you need coverage of the whole meeting. 

Example: You receive a meeting summary and spot an error about a due date. You double-check with your instructor and update your notes accordingly. 

 

Summary: Key Takeaways and Resources 

• Zoom AI Companion helps you manage, review, and get clear information from meetings. 
• Always review and edit AI-generated content for accuracy and privacy. 
• Use features that fit your needs and ask for help if you’re unsure. 
• For more information and video walk throughs, visit your K-State Zoom Portal or ask your department’s IT support. 

Resource Links: 

K-State Zoom Portal: https://ksu.zoom.us/profile 

K-State Records Management: https://www.k-state.edu/arm/records  

Zoom Summary video: https://youtu.be/3F3HcegaW28?si=LK006Pmj-Rc1U33w, https://youtu.be/q28JAMMImgc?si=v2Mi6y28sy6EM-Po, https://youtu.be/wT1TkwHDI2U?si=LvBXLFdQxRwumCiE, https://youtu.be/13eixmABJF4?si=eGD0jgWRScTlohph, https://youtu.be/x17ESsrxTxw?si=V3rE8M4bCtRpArZI 

Zoom Feature list and guide: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0057610

Need help? Reach out to K-State IT Service Desk or check the Zoom Help Center for more guides and support.