Liz Hamren, the The CEO of Amazon’s Ring camera business often wonders if her husband remembered to pick up the package of frozen goods that is regularly delivered to their home. I could scold him or I could check the pictures on his Ring.
Historically, the latter option required her to tediously swipe through a video timeline in the Ring app to identify if, when and by whom the box was picked up. But in recent weeks, Hamren has been able to let AI do the searching. You type “package today” into the app and you can immediately see the clip of your husband doing his duty, assuming that’s the case.
Ring’s new smart video search capability, which the company announced today, will roll out on 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. He couldn’t help answer the recurring question in our house: “Did you remember to close the door?” But searches for “dog poop,” “gardeners,” and “skates” returned mostly accurate results.
Hamren, who also oversees three other Amazon home technology units, says Ring blocks searches for content it deems “offensive, inappropriate or harmful.” He declined to elaborate, beyond saying that names of weapons and “qualitative terms about people or situations” are among those prohibited.
Our searches for terms that some may consider sensitive, including “black,” “turban,” and “gun,” returned no results even though there were images matching those descriptions. “Disabled” people returned sliding in wheelchairs and mothers pushing strollers. Ring notes that it will now block “disabled” searches due to the risk of misuse.
Still, the search capability marks a big improvement for Ring, which over the past decade popularized home surveillance through its video doorbells and a growing suite of other security devices. The problem has been that millions of Ring users have been stuck with a huge library of images (potentially up to six months old) with minimal features to easily extract the information within. Hamren, a former Microsoft and Meta hardware executive who joined in March 2023, wanted to provide information to users without them having to tinker too much. AI made it possible.
Hamren’s reign at Ring has also marked a significant change in the company’s pitch to potential customers. “Tough on crime” ads featuring suspicious characters disappeared. It gave up its partnerships with law enforcement, which had seen Ring develop tools for users to easily share videos with law enforcement agencies without having to obtain a warrant.
Ring’s current marketing features adorable images involving pets and children, and users are encouraged to share fantastic videos with their online communities, not just the more serious ones. The focus is no longer on stopping crime, but on reducing anxiety by allowing customers to have a detailed view of what is happening in front of the camera.
The search is just the beginning. Hamren says the new AI models powering search will eventually allow Ring to notify users about specific situations, like a bear wandering into the backyard or an anomalous puddle in the yard. They will also receive summaries of recent events. “Providing intelligence and context about what’s happening is ultimately where we want to go,” he says.