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Liz Hamren, the CEO of Amazon’s Ring camera business, often wonders whether her husband remembered to grab the package of frozen goods that is regularly delivered to their home. She could nag him, or she could check the footage from their Ring.
Historically, the latter option required her to tediously swipe through a video timeline in Ring’s app to identify if and when the box was picked up and by whom. But in recent weeks, Hamren has been able to let AI do the searching. She types “package today” into the app and right away can see the clip of her husband completing his duty, assuming he has.
Ring’s new Smart Video Search capability, which the company announced today, is rolling out by November 5 to all of its Home Pro subscribers, who pay $20 monthly or $200 annually. WIRED tested the feature over the past few days. It couldn’t help answer the recurring question in our home: “Did you remember to lock the door?” But searches for “dog pooping,” “gardeners,” and “rollerblading” brought up mostly accurate results.
Hamren, who also oversees three other Amazon home technology units, says Ring blocks searches for content it considers “offensive, inappropriate, or harmful.” She declined to elaborate beyond saying that names of weapons and “qualitative terms about people or situations” are among those barred.
Our searches for terms some may consider sensitive, including “Black,” “turban,” and “gun,” yielded no results despite there being footage matching those descriptions. “Disabled” returned people scooting by in wheelchairs—and mothers pushing strollers. Ring notes it will now block searches for “disabled” due to the risk of misuse.
Still, the search capability marks a big upgrade for Ring, which over the past decade popularized home surveillance through its video doorbells and a growing suite of other security gadgets. The issue has been that millions of Ring users have been stuck with a massive library of footage—potentially up to six month’s worth—with minimal features to easily mine the information within it. Hamren, a former Microsoft and Meta hardware executive who joined in March 2023, wanted to bring users insights without them having to fiddle around too much. AI made that possible.
Hamren’s reign at Ring also has brought a significant shift in the company’s pitch to potential customers. “Tough-on-crime” ads showing suspicious characters disappeared. She pulled back on partnerships with police, which had seen Ring develop tools for users to easily share videos with law enforcement agencies without them having to obtain a warrant.
Ring’s marketing today features adorable footage involving pets and children, and users are encouraged to share whimsical videos to their online communities, not just the serious ones. The focus is no longer on curbing crime but rather on reducing anxiety by allowing customers granular insight into what unfolds in front of the camera.
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