Zoom CEO predicts AI will enable 3-day workweeks within 5 years

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan believes AI assistants could enable three or four-day workweeks within five years by automating routine tasks and reducing manual workloads. Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Yuan outlined his vision for AI reshaping work schedules as dramatically as the pandemic transformed remote work, positioning this shift as central to Zoom’s strategic direction.

What you should know: Yuan’s timeline is aggressive, predicting shorter workweeks could become reality within five years as AI handles more workplace responsibilities.

• “Today, I need to manually focus on all those products to get work done. Eventually, AI will help,” Yuan said. “By doing that, we do not need to work five days a week anymore, right? … Five years out, three days or four days [a week]. That’s a goal.”
• When asked about Zoom’s investment priorities, Yuan’s response was direct: “AI, AI, and AI.”

How it works: Zoom is developing “digital twins” – AI avatars that can represent users in meetings and calls without their physical presence.

• Earlier this year, Yuan demonstrated the technology by using his own AI avatar during an investor earnings call, showcasing what he called pushing “the boundaries of communication.”
• The AI companions could handle negotiations or preliminary planning between business leaders, eliminating the need for human participation in lengthy calls.
• AI tools would also review emails, highlight urgent messages, and assist across Zoom’s collaboration platform, including whiteboards and documents.

Strategic partnerships: Zoom has partnered with Nvidia, a leading AI chip manufacturer, to accelerate its AI Companion features, focusing on improved reasoning and automation capabilities.

• The collaboration aims to help users spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on creative or strategic work.
• The partnership represents Zoom’s broader push to integrate AI across its platform infrastructure.

The big picture: For a company that defined remote work during the pandemic, Zoom’s evolution appears to be shifting from connecting people to potentially replacing them in various workplace scenarios.

• Yuan envisions AI companions handling routine business interactions, freeing humans from time-consuming but low-value activities.
• This represents a fundamental reimagining of workplace productivity, where AI doesn’t just assist but actively substitutes for human presence in professional settings.