Cisco opens Webex to Claude and Google Meet: what it means

At WebexOne 2026 in Austin, October 5-8, Cisco announced it is opening Webex to third-party AI agents and competing meeting platforms. Anthropic's Claude AI will join Webex spaces using Claude Managed Agents and pick up shared team context, and Cisco room devices will now run Google Meet natively alongside Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Webex. Jeetu Patel, Cisco's Executive Vice President and General Manager for Security and Collaboration, summed it up: ["The next era of work isn't about bolting chatbots onto yesterday's tools. It's about AI agents working alongside people and teams, being deeply embedded in their workspaces, and collaborating on a secure, trusted foundation."](https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2026/m10/cisco-unveils-new-agentic-collaboration-experiences.html)

The message is clear: flexibility and interoperability in an AI-driven workplace.

What this means for businesses choosing a phone system

If you are comparing Webex against Microsoft Teams Phone, Zoom Phone, RingCentral or Dialpad, this announcement changes the equation. You are no longer locked to one AI model or one meeting platform when you buy Cisco hardware.

Before this, picking a vendor meant picking its ecosystem. Cisco devices ran Webex, Microsoft devices ran Teams, Zoom Rooms ran Zoom. Now Cisco is betting that letting you bring your own AI model and run competing meeting platforms on the same hardware will win customers who want flexibility over vendor lock-in.

This matters most if you have a mixed estate. One division uses Teams, another uses Zoom, a third uses Webex. Before, you bought separate hardware for each or forced everyone onto one platform. Now you can standardize on Cisco devices and let each team use what works for them.

Why Cisco is doing this now

Cisco is not the market leader in cloud calling. Microsoft Teams Phone and Zoom have bigger user bases. Opening Webex to competitors is a way to stay relevant when customers already have multiple platforms running.

The AI piece is about the same bet. Businesses do not want to be locked to one AI vendor when models change every six months. Letting you run Claude, OpenAI or whatever comes next inside Webex keeps Cisco in the conversation when the AI you picked today is not the AI you want tomorrow.

Cisco also announced agentic collaboration, where AI agents can be invited into spaces, meetings and calls to do multi-step work across Webex and third-party apps. Example: you @mention an analytics agent to pull usage figures, then ask a presentation agent to update the PowerPoint. The agents collaborate with each other and with you.

That only works if the agents can reach your tools. Opening the platform makes the agent vision possible.

How this changes the Webex comparison

Before WebexOne 2026, choosing a UCaaS platform meant choosing between Webex or Teams or Zoom. Now it can mean Webex and the others on the same devices.

This does not mean Webex is suddenly the best platform. It means Webex is making a play for mixed environments where standardizing on one vendor is not realistic.

If your business is all-in on Microsoft, Teams Phone still makes sense. If you are all-in on Zoom, Zoom Phone still makes sense. If you have multiple platforms and need hardware that works with all of them, Cisco just became more interesting.

The other side of this: RingCentral and Dialpad are not doing the same thing. They are building integrated platforms where the calling, video, contact center and AI come from one vendor. Cisco is building an open platform where the pieces come from anywhere.

Neither approach is wrong. It depends on what you value more: integration or flexibility.

When you will see it

Most of the features announced at WebexOne 2026 are planned for early 2027. Claude integration, agentic collaboration and Google Meet on Cisco devices will roll out over the next few months.

One piece is live now: native Zoom Rooms on Cisco hardware reached general availability in October 2026. If you have Cisco room devices and want to run Zoom Rooms on them, you can do that today.

The rest will arrive in stages through Q1 2027.

What else was announced

Beyond Claude and Google Meet, Cisco announced integration with OpenAI through the Model Context Protocol. The idea is the same: let businesses bring the AI model they want instead of locking them to one.

Cisco also showed collaborative agents doing multi-step work. An agent joins a meeting, listens to the discussion, pulls data from a connected system, updates a shared document and hands off to another agent. The demo had an analytics agent and a presentation agent working together to build a slide deck during a call.

Whether that becomes useful or just another feature nobody uses depends on execution. The idea is sound: AI that does work instead of just answering questions.

What this means for your next phone system decision

If you are choosing a business phone system or contact center platform, Cisco just made the comparison more complicated. Webex is no longer just Webex. It is Webex plus whatever meeting platform and AI model you want to run alongside it.

That flexibility comes with a cost. More platforms means more integrations to manage, more vendors to deal with, more moving pieces. If you want one throat to choke, an integrated platform like Teams or RingCentral might still be simpler.

But if you have multiple platforms today and no plan to consolidate, Cisco is betting you will pay for hardware that works with all of them.

We sell all of these platforms. Webex, Teams, RingCentral, Dialpad, Zoom, and others. We are always cheaper than buying direct, and setup is free. See a demo this week and we will show you what the announcement actually means for your building or business.

Frequently asked questions

Can I run Google Meet on Cisco devices today? Not yet. Native Google Meet on Cisco room devices is planned for early 2027. Zoom Rooms on Cisco hardware is available now as of October 2026.

Does this mean I have to use Webex if I buy Cisco devices? No. You can run Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet or Webex on the same Cisco room device. That is the point of the announcement.

Which AI models will work with Webex? Cisco announced Claude from Anthropic and OpenAI integration. More models will likely follow. The goal is to let you bring whatever AI agent you want into Webex spaces and meetings.

Is Webex better than Teams or RingCentral now? Not necessarily. Webex is making a play for flexibility. Teams, RingCentral and Dialpad are building integrated platforms. Which is better depends on whether you value openness or tight integration more.

When will these features be available? Most features announced at WebexOne 2026 are planned for early 2027. Zoom Rooms on Cisco devices is available now.

Get a quote or see a demo this week. We are always cheaper than buying direct, and setup is free.