Zoom AI Companion safety profile

What it does with your data

Zoom says it does not use your meeting content to train AI models. That covers customer audio, video, chat, screen sharing and attachments, plus other content of the same kind such as poll results, whiteboards and reactions. The promise applies to Zoom’s own models and to models from other companies.

There is one exception to know about. When someone gives feedback in ZoomMate (thumbs up, thumbs down or the Feedback button), that feedback can help Zoom improve its responses and features. The user can choose to attach extra context, which can include the prompt, the AI response, screenshots and diagnostic information.

On retention, Zoom keeps customer content for as long as it needs it for the uses in its Privacy Statement, and longer where the law requires. Content follows the retention period of the Zoom service it belongs to, and you can set custom periods for some content. When Zoom sends work to outside AI model providers, it says they keep no customer content, apart from limited trust and safety exceptions.

The pages checked do not split any of this by tier.

Settings to change first

There is no training opt-out to find, because Zoom says meeting content is not used for training. The settings worth changing first control what gets kept and what gets shared.

1. In the Admin Portal, choose which AI features to turn on at account or group level. Lock the ones staff should not change.
2. Disable and lock the “Meeting transcript” setting. If you need it on, set transcript retention to zero (0) days. Summaries can still be made without keeping a transcript.
3. Decide whether users may attach prompts, responses, screenshots and diagnostic information to ZoomMate feedback. If you are unsure, block it.
4. Set a Custom Message disclaimer that shows when meeting summary or meeting questions is on.

Cloud recording can still create and keep its own transcript, so review recording settings as well.

Free and paid tiers

The vendor pages checked do not say how data handling differs between free and paid Zoom accounts. Treat that as an open question. Do not assume a free account gets the same protections as a paid one, or that it gets worse ones.

A few points in the pages do depend on your account:

• Customer Managed Key, which lets you supply your own encryption key, is for Enterprise customers or available as an add-on.
• The alternate AI setups, Zoom-Hosted Models Plus (ZM+) and Zoom-Hosted Models Only (ZMO), depend on account and feature availability. You request them through Zoom support.
• Where data is processed depends on your account’s hosted region. Accounts hosted in the EU or Australia use ZM+ or can choose ZMO.

Admin controls

Account owners and admins have a wide set of controls. The pages do not say which plans include most of them:

• Turn AI features on or off at account and group level, and lock settings so users cannot change them.
• Disable meeting transcripts or set their retention to zero days.
• Control what context users may attach to ZoomMate feedback.
• Redact set types of personal data from meeting summaries, or block sensitive information with custom patterns. Both need a Zoom Support ticket.
• Require users to agree to recording and transcription.

On audits, Zoom says key AI features in Zoom Workplace are ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and ISO 27017/18 certified and fall within its SOC 2 report.

Using it with donor and client data

Zoom’s no-training statement is reassuring, but it does not stop content from being stored, summarized or shared with people outside your organization. Here is a sensible approach:

• Use an account your organization controls, with an admin who has turned off or zeroed out transcripts and locked the settings.
• Never paste donor names with gift amounts, client case notes, health details or payment details into AI prompts.
• Think twice before running AI summaries in meetings about individual donors or clients.
• Remember that when outside guests join, their account’s settings may govern some content.

How data handling differs between free and paid tiers is not documented. Before staff use AI Companion with donor data, ask Zoom to confirm in writing how your specific plan handles data. Also ask which AI setup (standard, ZM+ or ZMO) your account uses.

Questions people ask

Does Zoom train its AI on our meetings?

Zoom says no. It states that it does not use audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or similar content to train its own or third-party models. Feedback that users choose to send through ZoomMate can help Zoom improve its features.

Which outside AI companies see our content?

Under Zoom’s standard setup, processing may happen with providers including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google Gemini. Zoom says those providers keep no customer content, apart from limited trust and safety exceptions. You can ask Zoom support about the ZM+ or ZMO setups instead.

Can we get summaries without keeping transcripts?

Yes. Admins can turn off the meeting transcript or set its retention to zero days, and summaries still work. Temporary data used to build the summary is thrown away once the summary is made.