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The phrase Lets hop on a Zoom call has become part of everyday language, shorthand for virtual meetings that defined an era, from remote classrooms to boardrooms. Zoom rose to household-name status by keeping the world connected during the pandemic, but being synonymous with meetings has always been both a triumph and a trap. For years, the company has worked to shake the perception that it begins and ends in the virtual conference room. At Zoomtopia 2025, its annual flagship conference, the company made its boldest move yet to redefine that identity. It announced the launch of AI Companion 3.0, a major upgrade aimed at positioning Zoom as a full-scale agentic AI workplace. Instead of merely summarizing discussions, AI Companion can interpret intent, decide on next steps, and execute them across a wide array of applications and workflows, all powered by an agentic AI architecture. Zoom describes the shift as a move away from passive assistants toward true collaboratorssystems designed not just to respond to requests but to anticipate needs, make decisions, and carry out tasks, much like a colleague would. Xuedong Huang, Zooms chief technology officer, tells Fast Company that the latest upgrade moves beyond simple assistance by giving AI the ability to reason, remember, and take action. The leap from a passive assistant to a proactive agent in AI Companion 3.0 is made possible through the integration of agentic skills, including reasoning, memory, task action, and orchestration, he says. Under the hood, Zoom relies on a federated system that can pull from its own models as well as those from OpenAI and Anthropic, ensuring conversations reach resolution. Zoom describes AI Companion 3.0 as a horizontal intelligence layer, capable of connecting to third-party apps so users can rely on one single source of truth across the applications they already use. The system can even extend into rival ecosystems such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and WebEx. Smita Hashim, Zooms chief product officer, says the goal is to change collaboration norms by allowing users to stay aligned and be more present in meetings without the distraction of manual note-taking. AI Companion 3.0 is directly addressing the fragmentation plaguing hybrid teams that use multiple platforms to meet and collaborate, as well as small-business owners and solopreneurs who attend meetings on other platforms, she says. The emphasis on interoperability is a strategic choice. Enterprises are increasingly wary of vendor lock-in, especially when it comes to AI. Microsoft often ties Copilot closely to Office 365, and Google keeps its AI inside Workspace. Zoom, meanwhile, is attempting to carve out a distinct identity in a crowded field of workplace assistants. Huang believes AI should work wherever employees already are, not force them to change where or how they work. Making our system platform-agnostic required developing the capability for AI Companion to work across Zoom Workplace and leveraging Agent2Agent capabilities with Custom AI Companion, Huang says. Building these features demands that we take a customer-centric approach to deliver both AI quality and ease of use simultaneously. [Image: Zoom] Integrating Agentic AI Into Workflows Zoom says AI Companion 3.0 can analyze a users calendar and suggest which meetings might be skipped, while still delivering AI-generated notes from the host. It can scan schedules across time zones and holidays to propose collaboration windows, taking over tedious coordination tasks that often slow teams down. In addition, the platforms new free up my time feature recommends meetings to skip based on daily tasks and past attendance patterns. Another new skill, enhanced meeting preparation, offers proactive prompts ahead of a meeting so participants arrive with the agenda and previous action items in hand. Harnessing the power of agentic AI is about bringing happiness back to work for the people,” Huang says. “Its about freeing people from the mundane work we have to do and giving people more time to work on what really matters. Hashim says the company is expanding translation tools to make cross-border teamwork smoother and more inclusive. We are also availing live translations for meetings to help users collaborate more easily with global colleagues and partners with fewer language barriers, she says, pointing to an independent study showing Zooms captions outperformed those of rivals, with significantly higher accuracy in both French and Spanish. [Image: Zoom] For organizations seeking agentic AI tailored to their business, Zoom is rolling out Custom AI Companion. This low-code builder lets administrators design and deploy custom AI agents, supported by a tooling library and prebuilt templates for common workflows. According to Hashim, the goal is to make it simple for organizations to design and roll out their own AI agents with minimal friction. The custom agent builder empowers IT admins to configure knowledge bases and tools and test their AI agents’ capabilities before deployment, she explains. Zoom plans to provide starter templates so teams can quickly customize agents, which employees can then access directly within their existing workflows. Zoom is also embedding its AI deeper into customer support, sales, and collaboration through its Customer Experience (CX) and Zoom Virtual Agent (ZVA) suite. According to the company, the tools can detect patterns in customer interactions, flag issues before they escalate, prioritize sales leads, and recommend next best actions. They can even act as group assistats, answering project questions, providing status updates in natural conversation, or controlling smart meeting rooms by voice. While Microsoft and Google often reserve their AI features for premium tiers, Zoom is bundling AI Companion at no additional cost with paid Zoom Workplace accounts. Competing offerings can cost as much as $30 per user per month, making Zooms approach a direct challenge to competitors and a potential accelerator for adoption. But openness carries risk. Interoperability appeals to CIOs, but it leaves Zoom dependent on access to competitors ecosystems. If Microsoft or Google were to tighten permissions, Zooms openness could quickly shift from an advantage to a liability. Gartner analyst Adam Preset notes that major tech providers often create barriers to outside integrations, but that large organizations and regulators can push them toward more openness. Big vendors can, and do, restrict APIs or change terms to limit third-party integration, making true interoperability a challenge, he says. In that environment, Zooms stance on open standards could help it stand out as a defender of customer choice. Whats Next for Zoom? Embedding agentic AI directly into the flow of workplace dialogue gives Zoom a natural path for adoption. But whether it can deliver industry-specific depth to match rivals who have spent years refining their platforms is another question. Preset warns that companies shouldnt commit to a single vendor too quickly. The pace of change in workplace technology means enterprises need to stay flexible and avoid locking themselves into one path, he says. Zooms free AI tools may spark adoption, but lasting trust will require deeper enterprise-grade capabilities. Alongside its product announcements, Zoom also revealed a $10 million, three-year commitment to expand access to AI education and opportunity. That includes $5 million for K through 12 AI literacy, with large anchor grants to global organizations and smaller regional grants to local changemakers. First-round recipients include Code.org and Data.org, which help equip students, workers, and nonprofits with AI skills. Huang says Zoom will keep refining its AI by blending its own models with those from partners and by strengthening integrations with widely used workplace apps. Our ultimate goal, he says, is to leverage AI to transform every interaction into an opportunity for increased productivity, better outcomes, and stronger relationships.
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The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time in nine months. Since the last cut, progress on inflation has slowed while the labor market has cooled. That means Americans are dealing with both high prices and a challenging job market.The federal funds rate, set by the Federal Reserve, is the rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another. While the rates that consumers pay to borrow money aren’t directly linked to this rate, shifts in Fed policy affect what people pay for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and other financial products.Wednesday’s quarter-point cut is the first since December and lowers the Fed’s short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. The Fed projected it will cut rates two more times before the end of the year.The Fed has two goals when it sets the rate: one, to manage prices for goods and services, and two, to encourage full employment. This is known as the “dual mandate.” Typically, the Fed might increase the rate to try to bring down inflation and decrease it to encourage faster economic growth and more hiring. The challenge now is that inflation is higher than the Fed’s 2% target but the job market is weak, putting the Fed in a difficult position.“The dual mandate is always a balancing act,” said Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at personal finance site NerdWallet.Here’s what to know: A cut will impact mortgages gradually For prospective homebuyers, the market has already priced in the rate cut, which means it’s “unlikely to make a noticeable difference for most consumers at the time of the announcement,” according to Bankrate financial analyst Stephen Kates.“Much of the impact on mortgage rates has already occurred through anticipation alone,” he said. “(Mortgage) rates have been falling since January and dropped further as weaker-than-expected economic data pointed to a cooling economy.”Still, Kates said a declining interest rate environment will provide some relief for borrowers over time.“Whether it’s a homeowner with a 7% mortgage or a recent graduate hoping to refinance student loans and credit card debt, lower rates can ease the burden on many indebted households by opening opportunities to refinance or consolidate,” he said. Interest on savings accounts won’t be as appealing For savers, falling interest rates will slowly erode attractive yields currently on offer with certificates of deposit (CDs) and high-yield savings accounts.Right now, the best rates on offer for each have been hovering at or above 4% for CDs and at 4.6% for high-yield savings accounts, according to DepositAccounts.com.Those are still better than the trends of recent years, and a good option for consumers who want to earn a return on money they may want to access in the near-term. A high-yield savings account generally has a much higher annual percentage yield than a traditional savings account. The national average for traditional savings accounts is currently 0.38%.There may be a few accounts with returns of about 4% through the end of 2025, according to Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com, but the Fed cuts will filter down to these offerings, lowering the average yields as they do. Auto loans are not expected to decline soon Americans have faced steeper auto loan rates over the last three years after the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate starting in early 2022. Those are not expected to decline any time soon. While a cut will contribute to eventual relief, it might be slow in arriving, analysts say.“If the auto market starts to freeze up and people aren’t buying cars, then we may see lending margins start to shrink, but auto loan rates don’t move in lockstep with the Fed rate,” said Bankrate analyst Stephen Kates.Prices for new cars have leveled off recently, but remain at historically high levels, not adjusting for inflation.Generally speaking, an auto loan annual percentage rate can run from about 4% to 30%. Bankrate’s most recent weekly survey found that average auto loan interest rates are currently at 7.19% on a 60-month new car loan. Credit card rate relief could be slow Interest rates for credit cards are currently at an average of 20.13%, and the Fed’s rate cut may be slow to be felt by anyone carrying a large amount of credit card debt. That said, any reduction is positive news.“While the broader impact of a rate reduction on consumers’ financial health remains to be fully seen, it could offer some relief from the persistent budgetary pressures driven by inflation,” said Michele Raneri, vice president and head of U.S. research at credit reporting agency TransUnion.“These savings could contribute to a reduction in delinquency rates across credit card and unsecured personal loan segments,” she said.Still, the best thing for anyone carrying a large credit card balance is to prioritize paying down high-interest-rate debt, and to seek to transfer any amounts possible to lower APR cards or negotiate directly with credit card companies for accommodation. The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. Cora Lewis, Associated Press
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Shares in the four largest publicly traded quantum computing companies (which Ill refer to as the Quantum Four for short) are currently having a good 24 hours. Yesterday, the stock prices of D-Wave, IonQ, Quantum Computing Inc., and Rigetti all saw impressive single-day gains. In premarket trading this morning, the stock prices of the Quantum Four are even higher. Heres what you need to know. Quantum Four share prices up across the board When it comes to publicly traded quantum computing companies, there are four big ones: D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT) Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI) Yesterday, all of these companies saw their stock price rise by a healthy amount. D-Wave Quantum was the biggest gainer, with QBTS surging nearly 19% in a single session. QBTS shares closed at $22.54. And today, QBTS are on the rise again. In premarket trading as of the time of this writing, QBTS shares are up another 3.2%. Shares in IonQ, Inc. also rose a respectable amount yesterday. IONQ shares closed the day up more than 5%, hitting a closing price of $65.44. IONQ shares are up another 5.5% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing. Rigetti Computing likewise had a great Wednesday, with RGTI shares surging 9.95% to close at $21.99. Today, RGTI shares are continuing upwards. They are currently up 3.7% in premarket trading. Finally, Quantum Computing Inc. shares rose a healthy amount on Wednesday. QUBT shares closed up nearly 5% to end the day at $17.71. Today, QUBT shares are currently up another 4.3% in premarket trading. These gains over the past 24 hours suggest that investors are once again interested in the companies that make the technology that could one day be as transformative to computing as artificial intelligence has been in recent years. Why have quantum computing stocks been rising? Its hard to pinpoint why exactly investors seem to have a renewed interest in quantum computing stocks this week. However, there are two events within the industry that have happened recently that could be part of the reason the Quantum Four are rising. The first event is that yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) announced the expansion of the Quantum-in-Space Collaboration. The collaboration is a joint venture between the U.S. government and quantum computing and space companies designed to deploy quantum-based technologies in space, which could be particularly useful for advanced communications systems and cybersecurity. Announcing the expanded collaboration, the DOE revealed that IonQ was a new signatory, along with the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB), and aerospace giant Honeywell. There was a second event that happened yesterday, too. IonQ separately announced that it intends to buy Vector Atomic, a California company that makes quantum sensors for navigation. Vector Atomic currently has $200 million worth of government contracts. The common theme between these two events is not just IonQ, but the governments clear interest in quantum technologies, particularly in the realm of communications and security. As quantum computing becomes more critical to government plans, the companies that operate in the quantum spacenamely the Quantum Fourstand to benefit. Of course, its impossible to say that these events yesterday are the exact reason why quantum stocks are lifting. But they are the latest signs of increased activity in the quantum computing industry. Also, in addition to the two events yesterday, one of the quantum computing industrys most prominent events is being held this week. Quantum World Congress 2025 began on Monday and ends today. The congress brings together major players from the quantum computing world to share information through keynotes and boot camps. Excitement generated by the event could be drawing more attention to quantum stocks this week. Quantum computing stocks have had great returns since 2024 This week hasnt been the only banner period for Quantum Four stocks. Since 2024, the share prices of the four companies have surged. Heres how each of the Quantum Four have performed over the past 12 months as of yesterday’s close: D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS): up 2,158% IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ): up 705% Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT): up 2,517% Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI): up 2,448% What quantum investors will be hoping is that these incredible gains will be as nascent as the quantum computing industry is now. But even a quantum computer cant guess where the Quantum Fours share prices go from here.
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