Notable in corporate communication, Zoom’s Chief Executive Officer, Eric Yuan, has begun using an artificial intelligence avatar during quarterly earnings calls. This follows a similar move by the Chief Executive Officer of Klarna, who recently employed an AI avatar for an investor call. Yuan’s avatar was created using Zoom Clips, the company’s tool for asynchronous video production. During his address, the avatar emphasized Zoom’s commitment to innovation, stating, “It is just one example of how Zoom is pushing the boundaries of communication and collaboration. Zoom has implemented strong safeguards to prevent misuse of AI-generated content, ensuring the responsible use of these avatars.
Why do we care?
Someone tell Eric Yuan no. It’s easy to dismiss this as a gimmick, but it exposes some real flaws here. How do we know that was Yuan, and what security was put in place around ensuring they aren’t being misused?
The ability to script, polish, and present a message without the speaker ever needing to deliver it live introduces new dynamics in corporate authenticity and consistency. That’s both opportunity and risk:
- Opportunity: Small business leaders can look and sound polished even with limited time or PR resources. This levels the playing field—MSPs can help set it up.
- Risk: Fake CEO messages, impersonation, and misuse are all going to rise. Providers must educate clients about secure identity and communication practices, especially as deepfakes move from security concern to business feature.
“Was this actually you?” is a key question to be able to ask. The continued AI theme is about accountability, and too many solutions offer none.