Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, NAA CORNER—The benefits and pitfalls of AI tools in video arbitration hearings, (Jul 25, 2025)

By NAA Members Andrea Dooley, California, and Robert A. Creo, Florida

It is within the arbitrator’s discretion whether to use AI during hearings and whether to prohibit any use of AI during the hearing by other participants.

As Artificial Intelligence becomes more pervasive in the legal field, it has become increasingly available in the video conferencing programs that arbitrators use to conduct remote hearings. The question of whether to use AI tools frequently arises during the conduct of remote hearings, and this article addresses both the benefits and concerns of using AI in remote proceedings. From the outset, we’d like to make it clear that it is within the arbitrator's discretion whether to use AI during the hearing and whether to prohibit any use of AI during the hearing by other participants.

For illustrative purposes we will be referring to Zoom, which includes a separate function called AI Companion, which has its own icon on the Zoom dashboard, for AI embedded into Zoom. Other programs, such as Teams and Webex, have different tools with which we are less familiar. Portions of this article were generated after using AI Companion to confirm its functionality.

AI Companion Basics

As with most of the navigation features of Zoom, only the host or a co-host can enable the AI services. There seems to be a consensus that best practice is for arbitrators to be the host to be able to exert control over the remote proceedings. Some arbitrators designate a person to act as co-host, often the court reporter, to assist with admitting people to the hearing room or to maintain continuity should there be a connectivity issue or malfunction originating with the arbitrator. Arbitrators using a co-host should be aware that the co-host can independently enable AI.

Arbitrators should also utilize the Waiting Room feature to control the admission to the proceedings so unauthorized participants or third-party programs or recordings are not able to enter the meeting. Third-party AI programs will usually appear as a separate participant even if their user is in the meeting. Arbitrators might consider updating their video conference protocols to address whether and when third-party programs can be used in the hearing.

When participants are in a Breakout room without a host present, the AI Companion does not function since it is only where there is a host and it is activated to operate.

AI Summary Capabilities

AI generates concise summaries of meetings, including key discussion points and next steps, which it refers to as “assets.” AI organizes recordings into segments; can highlight key information and moments; and provides actionable lists and deadlines. For those using the whiteboard feature, AI can generate ideas, refine content, and add items to a whiteboard to streamline brainstorming and visual collaboration.

When the host stops using the AI Companion, the program notifies the user that the meeting questions and summaries will stop and offers to delete the “assets,” i.e. the transcript and summary. Another host in the same meeting still receives a post-meeting summary and list of action items, so deleting the assets only applies to the user who opted out of receiving the information.

As with any AI generated content, the text might not be 100% accurate, especially with background noise, strong accents, or specialized jargon. Arbitrators should review and edit AI-generated content for accuracy prior to any distribution.

Case Management Meetings

Arbitrator Robert A. Creo has found that a valuable use of AI Companion outside of the arbitration hearing is during the case management conference via Zoom, which he holds for most cases and for every hearing conducted remotely. Rather than record the session, Arbitrator Creo asks the parties if the AI function should be enabled to serve as a scribe. His goal is to have a candid and open conversation to identify procedural and logistical issues but gives notice to the advocates so that if a sensitive issue is going to be discussed, AI can be disabled. If one party objects, then he does not use AI. At the end of the meeting, the summary is sent only to Arbitrator Creo as the host. He does a quick review of the summary to ensure accuracy and then sends it to both advocates. It is useful for Case Management conferences because it provides a summary of the discussion and confirms the deadlines and next steps.

Hearings

Arbitrator Creo only provides the summary to the lead advocate for each party. A key restriction is the AI summary is not to be distributed to the client since it is not a part of any record. This is also noted in the AI summary at the beginning of the discussion.

Zoom offers a recording feature which some arbitrators use to record hearings. Other arbitrators rely on court reporters to create the record of the case. In all cases, the arbitrator needs to determine whether to use AI and what purpose it will have. It is probably imprudent to rely on the AI summary to constitute the arbitrator’s record of the case. However, it can still provide a useful summary of key points of testimony and arguments. It may also save time in organizing the content.

If one advocate requests that AI be used and there is no objection from the opposing advocate, then arbitrators comfortable with doing so should use it. However, the arbitrator should have an express disclaimer and stipulation stated for the transcript that the AI document is not part of the record of the proceeding and may not be referenced in any manner. The AI generated document is limited to aiding the advocates in preparing the closing briefs. Participants do not have access to the AI summary unless it’s provided by the host.

An ethical issue is whether an AI summary can constitute the arbitrator’s formal record of the proceeding. We think it is unlikely that this is ethical. The summary can be included in the arbitrator’s notes and should at all times be reviewed for accuracy.

Confidentiality and Privacy Issues

In the United States, several states require the consent of all participants in a conversation for it to be legally recorded. These are often referred to as “all-party consent” or “two-party consent” states. As of current information, the states that generally require all parties to consent to a conversation being recorded include: California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada (while the statute is one-party, the state Supreme Court has interpreted it as all-party consent for telephonic communications), New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Some states, like Connecticut and Oregon, have laws where the consent requirement can vary depending on whether the communication is in-person or electronic.

If you are recording a conversation, especially across state lines, it's always safest to adhere to the stricter “all-party consent” rule to avoid potential legal issues, as the law of the all-party consent state generally takes precedence. It would be wise to assume that AI summaries and recordings would be held to the same standard, and ensure that all participants have consented to the use of AI if one party would like to use that functionality.

Arbitrator Lisa Kohn, Chicago, Illinois, notes that when someone links a calendar to their Zoom account and does not turn off AI Companion in the settings in their web browser, the Zoom AI may start automatically for any Zoom meeting on the calendar that has log-in information in the calendar. AI Companion controls can only be accessed via the Zoom account management system online. Because AI Companion has been added as a default function in Zoom, arbitrators and other meeting hosts should adjust their settings to conform to their desired level of use.

Many AI-powered meeting summarization tools exist (e.g., Fireflies.ai, Otter.ai, Fathom, Tactiq, Sembly, Jamie, Supernormal, Read AI, Krisp) which are designed to integrate with common video conferencing platforms like Zoom. If linked to a participant’s or host’s calendar, these may also be able to access a Zoom meeting on that calendar, even if the human owner of the calendar is not logged in. These third-party AI services are not affected by the Zoom settings toggles that rein in Zoom AI Companion. Hosts should utilize the Waiting Room function to control whether a guest’s Otter.AI, for example, is permitted to enter the meeting. With the Waiting Room function, the AI software can be excluded or admitted by the host.

Ensuring that protected information like medical records and confidential communications are not captured in AI summaries is an important responsibility of the arbitrator. Zoom states that it does not use customer content to train its AI models, and data passed to third-party AI model providers is deleted after processing. It is not advisable to use AI Companion for meetings involving highly sensitive, privileged, or confidential data, such as medical records, issues involving sensitive allegations of sexual harassment, criminal activity, or minors, regardless of Zoom’s data handling policies.

Summary

This is just the beginning of our inquiry into the application of AI in labor and employment arbitration but as AI tools proliferate, it’s important for arbitrators and advocates to consider its use and limitations. The privacy aspect is particularly relevant, as the AI Companion operates such that arbitrators can use AI assistance during hearings without participants being aware or having access to the same tools. We hope to revisit this topic in greater detail as we learn more about AI in arbitration practice.

About the authors.Robert Creo has served as a neutral for over 5,000 days since 1979 in over 35 states. He has served as a Labor Arbitrator in all industries and all issues. Andrea Dooley has served as an arbitrator for grievance and arbitrations, fact-finding hearings, civil service hearings, mediation, labor-management partnerships, interest-based bargaining and has authored numerous newsletters and publications.

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