An artificial intelligence system (bot or AI avatar) deployed to attend a meeting or event in place of a human, typically to observe, record, summarize, or interact on their behalf. The "emissary" may be pre-programmed with instructions or agenda points, or be a real-time agent capable of basic interactions or just recording. The AI may appear as a name or video avatar in a Zoom/Teams screen and may or may not clearly indicate it is not human. The AI listens or records the meeting, may generate a summary or transcript afterward, and may or may not participate (e.g., say “noted,” “I’ll follow up."  The human host of the meeting can typically recognize this is an AI representative but may or may not disclose this substitution to all other participants.

This is an emerging and controversial practice in AI-mediated communication that currently lacks a standardized term—but several terms are circulating in technology, business, and educational communities to describe the practice:

• AI Representative | AI Emissary
  • Not standard terms
  • AI Representative implies delegation (like a spokesperson)
  • AI Emissary has a formal, more diplomatic tone
  • Both suggest the AI is attending on behalf of a human, not pretending to be one
• Digital Double
  • Popular in speculative tech and AI circles
  • Suggests a full virtual representation of a person
  • Can imply real-time interaction or decision-making capability
  • Closer to Digital Twin or Avatar with Agency
• Ghost Attendee or Proxy Bot
  • Colloquial terms, sometimes used pejoratively
  • Emphasizes the ethical ambiguity—present but not present
  • Proxy bot may refer to a simple note-taking tool
• Shadow Presence
  • Describes situations where a bot is present in a digital meeting space (or even listens via device microphone), but its presence is not openly acknowledged
  • Often unintentional but raises ethical flags
• Synthetic Identity
  • An AI-generated name, avatar, or persona used to represent a bot in professional settings
  • Can be used transparently (e.g., “Fireflies.ai bot”) or misleadingly (e.g., a human-sounding name with no disclosure it's AI)
• Meeting Clone or AI Meeting Attendee
  • Used in some productivity/startup platforms
  • Describes tools like Otter.ai, Rewind, Fathom, and Zoom AI Companion that show up with your name and join calls

Citation Note: This glossary entry was developed by the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library with support from ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025) and is based on an original synthesis of emerging terminology from journalism, technical documentation, and academic discourse. The terms reflect evolving usage in the fields of AI, workplace automation, and digital communication, and are not yet standardized across sectors.