If you've attended one of my webinars during the past six years or more, you'll know that I am a staunch advocate of high-quality audio. That sentiment goes beyond the workplace into my home. My top-of-the-line 65-inch OLED is paired with the best surround sound system I could afford.
Hear Me Out
Until three years ago, I had my interviews for articles transcribed by a woman who knew the industry. Not only did I need her to listen intently to sometimes two different people, but she also needed to discern different dialects and pick up on industry jargon. If my interview were 30 minutes long, it would take her 90 minutes to transcribe, and I'd generally receive it a day later. Two years ago, I began using an AI-generated transcription service that turns around my interviews in a few minutes with around 90 percent accuracy. Given I need to review everything, that percentage is acceptable. I'm only paying a few dollars per interview, and the speed is practically real-time. Unless 100 percent accuracy is needed, human transcriptionists are looking for a new career path.
Within the past year, companies offering highly sophisticated AI transcription services have exploded.
At Your Service
Like many of you, our company has its fair share of meetings. Every Monday at noon, ET, we have an all-hands B2B Tech Group meeting with, at last count, 53 invited guests. Future, the parent company of AV Technology, has an office in New York City, but the majority of our staff is remote, spread across the U.S. and the U.K., and in more time zones than I can keep track of. For the past few years, Google Meet has become our common meeting space. Having worked remotely since 2014, I have to admit, it's nice to see the faces of the people I work with (just not every Monday, please!).
After extensive research, internal testing, and security measures, Future deployed Gemini, part of Google's family of multimodal AI models and an AI assistant for companywide use. Like other AI assistants, Gemini's features are numerous and growing. I was skeptical because I had already tried its transcription feature and found it was not nearly as accurate as the paid service I was using.
In particular, during the past six months, I have noticed that almost every meeting I participate in, whether it's a Teams, Zoom, or Google meeting scheduled by someone outside my organization, soon after the conclusion, I often receive a meeting recap, and sometimes action items.
Much to my surprise, the summaries and action items have been mostly accurate and pretty helpful. The truth is, I can be more engaged and collaborate more effectively when I am not taking notes. That is, if the AI agent is picking up everything that all the participants are saying.
True Story
Several months ago, Future's B2B senior leadership team flew in from various locations and, along with New York City area employees, conducted a series of planning meetings. Each meeting also comprised three to six remote participants. Our NYC conference rooms are outfitted with a display, webcam/soundbar, and a microphone on the table. The meeting I participated in had approximately 10 people seated at a long conference table, with a microphone in the middle. Plain and simple, I couldn't hear everyone, and when more than one person spoke at once, it was a disaster.
It's not surprising that over the course of the 90 minutes, many sidebar conversations took place that weren't germane to the primary goal. Ironically, those were the conversations I could hear more clearly.
Gemini was not being used to capture this meeting, which was a good thing because the small group sitting together at the end of the table was discussing where to go to dinner that evening, and not everyone was invited. The problem was that I could hear that "quiet" sidebar conversation more clearly than some of the important voices during the meeting.
[Agentic AI, Cindy’s Dahlias, and a Cautionary Tale]
Cindy Predicts Agentic AI as the Top Trend for 2026
I have moderated countless webinars and written even more articles about the importance of high-quality audio in classroom and meeting spaces. As if on its own, being able to hear everyone clearly isn't enough to justify investing in high-quality audio; I firmly believe agentic AI will be the new driver.
Microsoft Copilot, Zoom AI Companion, and Google Gemini are very sophisticated AI-powered tools that have many agentic features. Some of these features have quickly become active participants, and one could argue that they are the most productive participants in a meeting.
High-quality audio in meeting spaces is no longer just about delivering "meeting equity" for the hybrid workforce and remote students. Even if there's no remote participant, using the agentic AI features in Microsoft Copilot, Zoom AI Companion, and Google Gemini can transcribe and summarize meetings and suggest action items. Think about all the time each person spends (or doesn't bother) on figuring out the salient points from a meeting and what action they need to take. More to the point, did they really listen and remember what action is required? For individuals who weren't able to attend the meeting, a summary with action items can be sent.
I believe the use of agentic AI in meetings in 2026 is going to grow exponentially. And I can attest to how much time it has saved me and how it has reminded me of the key points and actions needed.
The reality, and the real point of what has turned into a rant, is that if you don't invest in high-quality audio for your meeting spaces and classrooms, you are making a statement that you don't want to enable people to be more productive. And we all know that CFOs view productivity as the real measure of success.
In 2026, agentic AI will be the most significant driver of finally achieving buy-in for high-quality audio integrated into meeting spaces and classrooms. That's my prediction, and I am sticking to it.
