COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE REFRESH

Report Date: December 3, 2025
Report Type: Monthly baseline (no previous comparison provided)
Competitors Tracked: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Focus Areas: Pricing, AI features

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Current Landscape:

• All three competitors now bundle AI capabilities into base/mid-tier plans
• Google Meet raised Workspace prices ~$2/user/month (17-22% increase) in Jan 2025 to include Gemini AI
• Zoom includes AI Companion free with all paid plans ($13.33/month+)
• Microsoft Teams offers base plans at $4-6/month, but Copilot AI requires $30/month add-on
• Pricing range: $4/month (Teams Essentials) to $30/month (Copilot AI add-on)
• AI is now table stakes - all platforms offer meeting summaries, transcription, and intelligent features

Key Insight: Google and Zoom bundle AI into core pricing; Microsoft separates premium AI behind expensive Copilot paywall.

CURRENT STATE ANALYSIS

Zoom

Positioning: “AI-first work platform” - “One platform to connect”

Pricing:

• Basic (Free): 40-minute meetings, up to 100 participants, no AI Companion
• Pro: $13.33/user/month (annual) or $14.99/month (monthly)
• Business: $18.33/user/month (annual)
• Business Plus (bundled with Zoom Phone): $22.49/user/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing (250+ users)

AI Features (AI Companion included free with all paid plans):

• AI Companion 3.0 (launched Sept 2025): Agentic AI with dynamic work surface in browser/desktop app
• Meeting summaries, smart chapters, action item generation
• Writing assistance and deep research skills using internal/external data
• Cross-platform support: Can join Google Meet, Microsoft Teams meetings as participant or host
• Note-taking, transcription from any meeting (whether you’re host or not)
• Task prioritization and meeting coordination
• Custom AI Companion add-on: $12/month - tailored AI for organization/vertical/role, works across third-party platforms

Recent Updates:

• 45+ agentic AI innovations announced at Enterprise Connect 2025
• Nov 2024: User feedback mechanism for AI Companion responses
• Jan 2025: Team Chat improvements (new sidebar tabs, improved navigation)

Google Meet (Google Workspace)

Positioning: “Video calls with anyone, anywhere” - Accessibility across devices and organizations

Pricing (Meet included in Workspace plans):

• Free (Google Account): Up to 100 participants, 60-minute group meetings, no premium features
• Business Starter: $7.00/user/month (annual) or $8.40/month (monthly) - 100 participants, noise cancellation
• Business Standard: $14.00/user/month (annual) or $16.80/month (monthly) - 150 participants, recording, breakout rooms
• Business Plus: $22.00/user/month (annual) or $26.40/month (monthly) - 500 participants, attendance tracking, advanced security
• Enterprise: Custom pricing - up to 1,000 participants

Pricing Changes:

• March 2025: Google raised Workspace prices ~$2/user/month (17-22% increase) to bundle Gemini AI
• Previous pricing: $6/$12/$18 → New: $7/$14/$22 (annual)

AI Features (Gemini included in Business Standard+ as of Jan 2025):

• “Take notes for me”: Automatic meeting notes, action items, late-join catch-up, post-meeting summaries
• Multilingual support: Note-taking in 8 languages (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish) - added March 2025
• Ask Gemini in Meet: Query meeting captions, Workspace resources, web content during meetings
• Near real-time speech translation: Low-latency translation maintaining voice tone and expressions
• Studio enhancements: AI-generated backgrounds, studio lighting simulation, audio quality enhancement
• Smart layouts: Dynamic tile adjustment based on participants, content, device type

Microsoft Teams

Positioning: “Ready for the future of work” - Next-generation AI transforming workplace collaboration

Pricing:

• Free: 60-minute meetings, messaging, up to 100 participants, no AI
• Teams Essentials: $4/user/month (annual) or $4.80/month (monthly) - 30-hour meetings, 300 participants, whiteboard, recordings
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/user/month - includes email, 1TB storage, 24-hour meetings
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user/month - includes desktop Office apps, webinar hosting
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22/user/month (annual) or $26.40/month (monthly) - adds cyberthreat protection
• Teams Premium add-on: $10/user/month - advanced AI features
• Microsoft 365 Copilot: $30/user/month add-on (requires existing M365 subscription)

AI Features:

• Basic AI (included in paid plans): Meeting transcripts, live captions, noise cancellation
• Teams Premium ($10/month): Intelligent meeting recaps, live translations, personalized insights
• Copilot ($30/month) - Premium AI requiring separate license:
  • Meeting summaries from Word documents shared in chat
  • AI-drafted meeting agendas based on title, attendees, context
  • GPT-5 model for complex reasoning tasks
  • Cross-Workspace AI integration

MARKET TRENDS

Trend 1: AI Bundling vs. Premium AI Separation

• Google & Zoom: Bundle AI into mid-tier plans at $13-14/month
• Microsoft: Keeps premium AI (Copilot) behind $30/month paywall
• Implication: Google/Zoom more accessible for SMBs; Microsoft targets enterprise with deeper AI needs

Trend 2: AI Commoditization Accelerating

• Meeting summaries, transcription, action items now standard across all platforms
• Advanced features (agentic AI, cross-platform support, translation) emerging as differentiators

Trend 3: Pricing Pressure and Increases

• Google raised prices 17-22% in Jan 2025 (justified by Gemini inclusion)
• Zoom pricing stable in 2025
• Microsoft maintains competitive entry pricing ($4-6/month) but monetizes via add-ons

Trend 4: Cross-Platform AI Capabilities

• Zoom’s Custom AI Companion: Works across Teams, Meet, Slack ($12/month add-on)
• Competitors building walled gardens; Zoom differentiates with interoperability

PRICING COMPARISON

Key Takeaway: Google Meet offers lowest entry with AI ($14/month); Microsoft cheapest entry but requires $30/month for premium AI; Zoom mid-range with comprehensive AI at $13.33/month.

AI FEATURE COMPARISON

STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

HIGH PRIORITY (Act within 2 weeks)

1. Define AI pricing strategy

• Why: Market split between bundled ($13-14/mo) and premium ($30/mo) AI
• Action: Decide if AI is table stakes (bundle) or premium upsell
• Benchmark: Google $14/mo with AI vs. Microsoft $6/mo + $30/mo add-on

2. Evaluate cross-platform AI opportunity

• Why: Zoom’s $12/mo Custom AI works across competitors - unique differentiator
• Action: Research if users want single AI across all tools vs. platform-specific

MEDIUM PRIORITY (Act within 30 days)

3. Audit AI feature parity

• Why: Meeting summaries, transcription, action items now baseline expectations
• Action: Compare your AI features against Zoom/Google/Microsoft baseline

4. Roadmap agentic AI capabilities

• Why: Zoom and Microsoft moving to “AI that takes action” not just “AI that summarizes”
• Action: Plan features that automate tasks (schedule follow-ups, draft documents, assign tasks)

NEXT REFRESH

Recommended: January 3, 2026 (monthly cadence)
Rationale: Fast-moving market with frequent AI launches; monthly tracking essential

Watch Next Period:

• Customer reaction to Microsoft’s Copilot promotional pricing (Dec-March campaign)
• Google Workspace churn signals post-price increase
• Zoom agentic AI adoption and effectiveness metrics
• Any year-end pricing announcements (Q1 2026 planning)