Wyze Introduces AI-Powered Video Search Feature for Security Cameras

Wyze AI Video Search is available to Cam Unlimited subscribers for free in early pilot program

Security cameras can be a great way to monitor and secure your home or office. It puts eyes where you need them and can catch things that you might not otherwise ever see. And while there are a number of brands out there that provide security cameras and other related devices, Wyze has been one of the most attractive for consumers, as it offers products that are cheap and features that are fairly reliable. Related Wyze Unlimited is the new subscription for multicam security setups It costs $10 per month or $99.99 per year Now, the brand is adding some new AI features to its products for Cam Unlimited subscribers, providing an easier way to search for just the thing you're looking for, without having to scroll and scrub through endless hours of videos. Wyze AI Video Search is a feature that has been in beta for some months now, but now it looks like it's ready for a bigger test, as Cam Unlimited subscribers can request access by referring to the Wyze AI Video Search page or using the direct sign-up page. A new AI tool that's all about enhancing search Close If you're currently located in the US and are a Wyze Cam Unlimited subscriber, there's a good chance that you've already seen a prompt pop up in your app directing you to join the pilot program. What's great is that you can be as specific as you want when searching, giving you the power to really find exactly what you're looking for. Of course, just like other AI tools that are out on the market today, this isn't going to be a perfect experience, but it should work well enough to provide a leg up if you're looking for something in your videos. As stated before, this is a feature you need to sign up for to gain access. You'll know that you've gained access if you receive an email from the company stating so. You can also check the app to see if you have a new search icon in the upper right-hand corner of the app that will enable AI search. What's great is that you can use this feature in the app but also use it on the web via a browser as well. Now, since this isn't fully available to the public, there is always the chance that it could get pulled or even be offered in a different form when it goes completely live without an invitation. Wyze hints that this could be a possibility in its footnote for the feature, stating "AI Video Search is an experimental feature that may not be included in Cam Unlimited in the future. We reserve the right to end the test at any time." This possibility seems ever more solidified as there is now a placeholder on the Wyze website that shows the future availability of the Cam Unlimited Pro tier that will include AI Video Search. There is no price listed by the current highest tier, which is Cam Unlimited, which costs $9.99 per month. Of course, Wyze isn't perfect by any means, and we know that it has had issues in the past when it comes to data privacy and client security. So if you're willing to use this service, be aware that the company hasn't had the best track record when it comes to handling customer data. With that said, we'll just have to wait and see just how potent this new feature is and how much it will cost when it's available. Would you subscribe to its new AI Video Search feature and how much would you pay for it? Let us know in the comments below.

I tried Wyze Cam's new AI-Fueled Video Search feature -- here's how it went

You can use text to describe the clips you're looking for and find them quickly Wyze just released a new AI-Fueled Video Search feature for its best home security cameras. This lets you quickly write out specific text prompts to find matching events within the app. That way, you don't have to manually sort through several timelines and thumbnails across each of your cameras to pull up the clips you're looking for. AI-Fueled Video Search is a unique feature accessible only to Wyze Cam owners who subscribe to the company's Cam Unlimited subscription. This same plan unlocks other advanced features, such as facial recognition. I had the chance to play with the new feature for a bit before today's big rollout. Here's how it worked under this preview period. After updating my Wyze app to the latest version, a small magnifying glass button was added to the right-hand corner of my "Events" tab. Clicking this icon opens a search box where you can type vague or hyper-specific text descriptors. In my testing, I was able to search for "white dog" and "tall person" to instantly find clips of the offenders who set off the motion events, which you can see in the pictures below. The more granular I got, the more the system struggled. While "white dog" accurately spotted my pet, the results missed some clips that featured the dog front and center earlier in the day. Wyze has stated the system can identify specific things such as "trash cans, garden tools, and even attributes like colors and shapes" -- but that wasn't quite my experience. When I searched for clips of a "blue shirt," "stroller," or "garbage bag," the AI didn't find any matching footage. The video search AI is powered by the company's own Wyze Vision Language Model, so I'll cut it some slack. It's an in-house solution built by a lean and independent team. I'm not expecting Google or Meta levels of accuracy, but it could use slightly more training before it's fully baked. With user submissions over time, this will better recognize more everyday objects like trash cans or tools. At the moment, it makes it easy to find people, animals, vehicles, or packages during specific times of the day rather than looking through thumbnails manually. This feature does what it sets out to do -- quickly monitor the things you care about. Just temper your expectations. Wyze used an example prompt, "Show me a delivery man with red roses," and I haven't found the system quite there yet in my time with it. But the prompt "Show me my dog in the backyard" works great. AI-Fueled Video Search is going to run Wyze Cam owners $9.99 per month for the cost of the Cam Unlimited subscription. However, with advanced features like facial recognition and cloud storage for all of your budget Wyze Cams, this isn't a bad deal. Remember that if you're not enrolled in a Wyze subscription, notifications are limited by an artificial cooldown period, and you lose core AI detection that tells you if a subject is a person, package, or animal. This tool is an exciting first step for generative AI in home security cameras and we're excited to see how this will inspire competitors like Eufy and Ring going forward.

Wyze's new AI feature lets users search across footage from security cameras

Wyze Labs is rolling out a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to let users search via text for specific moments in their security-camera videos. The Kirkland, Wash.-based company is releasing the AI video search feature Wednesday for customers on its $9.99/month Cam Unlimited plan. Wyze CEO Yun Zhang said in a news release that users will be surprised by the granular details they can search for, such as trash cans or garden tools, attributes such as colors and shapes, or specific queries such as "show me a delivery man with red roses," or "show me my cat in the backyard." One of Wyze's biggest competitors, Amazon's Ring business, has been working on a yet-to-be-released AI-powered video search feature of its own, Ring CEO Liz Hamren told GeekWire in an interview published earlier this year. Amazon often introduces new features at an annual fall product unveiling. Wyze says it has been working on AI integrations for its products since 2019. Its video search runs on a proprietary vision language model, design specifically for Wyze camera data. The company said this approach can be two to three times faster than conventional inference engines. Customers on the Wyze Cam Unlimited plan can request to use the AI video search feature starting Wednesday, the company said. Wyze has implemented new cloud and data security precautions after incidents in which some customers were temporarily able to access live videos from other users' cameras, which prompted the New York Times' Wirecutter to suspend its recommendations of the company's products. Founded in 2017 by a trio of Amazon veterans, the company raised $110 million in 2021 and ranks No. 9 on the GeekWire 200 list of top Pacific Northwest startups. Wyze started with security cameras but expanded to various other smart-home devices, now offering more than 70 different products.