Gemini and Other AI are Searching Our Security Videos: Here's What You Should Know

Google's Gemini AI has unleashed a new era for home security, one where algorithms search through our uploaded videos, label them and use that data to answer complex questions. Other AI from Arlo, Amazon Alexa, Siri and many more companies are also adding these search functions for our home security cameras and similar devices. That's useful, but it does come with some caveats.

When we asked Tete Xiao, CEO and co-founder of startup Prompt AI, about how these features can be used, he replied, "Home AI could enable language-based notifications and conversations about what's happening at home in real-time. You can get insights such as which delivery service came by, whether the dog was fed and if suspicious activity was detected around your house. You could even ask what your kids did after school or if specific people it recognizes stopped by."

As our CNET survey confirmed, people have worries about AI and privacy, and new features like these are bound to raise questions. Let's go over everything you should know about this new technology.

Read more: I Thought I'd Hate AI in Home Security. I Couldn't Have Been More Wrong

What's special about an AI video search?

Home security cameras are triggered by motion detection and object recognition. While there are ways to cut down on the triggers and associated alerts you get, cameras still tend to pick up lots of action, especially in a busy home. That adds up to a lot of footage to look through.

Most of this footage isn't very important -- until it suddenly is. If you want to find the details or where a pet ran off to, why an expected package disappeared or another key event, you may have to sift through a day of triggered motion recordings (or longer, depending on the scenario). That's a headache. AI video searches have come to security cameras to make it easier.

These allow you to type in a quick question or use a voice assistant to ask about specific objects and people. The search function will then scan all related video recordings and summarize them in a text answer so you can get the details you need. It's a bit like how AI can summarize long text chains for you, but applied to videos.

So where does the "AI" part of the search come in?

This new wave of AI technology refers to machine learning algorithms like LLMs (large language models) that are capable of assimilating a ton of human "language" and replicating it. Those languages include not only what we speak or type (think ChatGPT), but the way we identify objects in paintings, use logic to figure out problems and share ideas via mathematics or coding.

So these kinds of home searches have been trained to identify all kinds of common objects found in security videos, then put that identification together into a cohesive explanation that makes sense to humans. Combine that with their ability to understand even casual questions and you can get a specific answer without hunting through video yourself -- at least, when everything works right.

How am I supposed to use a feature like that?

It may seem like a strange use of AI at first, but we do run into home and family situations where it can be useful. One of Google's examples is asking "Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway again?" with Gemini reporting back that the kids had left their bikes in the driveway several times this week. Of course, this kind of snitching works with all kinds of toys or belongings from pets or children.

Homeowners may also want answers to questions like, "Did a UPS truck stop by today?" "Where did the cat go?" "Where did I leave the keys" or "Did the dog jump up on the sofa today?" Others may want the details about, "Every visitor who opened the door today," or info on "a red car that stopped by on March 3," and so on.

Many of these AIs also have the ability to give broad summaries of what happened, security-wise, during the day or weekend. Add face recognition technology and they may be able to answer questions about certain people, like, "Did Aunt Marge come knocking today?"

What brands are offering this kind of video search?

We've seen these kinds of AI searches offered by Google Home in combo with its Gemini AI, as well as Ring (currently in beta), Wyze and a number of third-party AI platforms with more on the way. Most recently, Amazon has announced Alexa Plus that includes a similar search analysis (free for Prime users, $20 for others).

While Arlo doesn't have AI searches, it is working on particularly advanced, customizable object detection. Even pet cams like Furbo's subscription cam are using AI to understand and report on what pets are doing. Eventually, we expect AI searches to arrive at nearly every security brand that offers video storage.

Do I need a special kind of camera to use this type of AI video search?

Not usually. These features aren't really housed in cameras, so any newer security camera that works with the brand's app should benefit from these AI searches. Some brands may list specific exceptions: Ring, for example, warns its search won't work with cams like the Ring Edge or Ring Alarm Pro. 

However, with searches like these it's a good idea to have a series of cameras around or inside your home, so they can analyze and track things from multiple angles to provide more complete explanations.

Do I have to pay for an AI video search?

You probably won't have to pay any extra fees specifically for an AI search add-on. However, this AI functionality is typically bundled into higher-tier security subscription services and often requires cloud video storage. If you aren't paying for a subscription right now, you will likely need a subscription (and its monthly fee) like Nest Aware or Ring Home Premium to enable AI searches.

Alexa Plus is a slight exception, since you do have to pay an Amazon Prime subscription to access it, but it's also available on its own for $20 per month. 

Is this type of video searching accurate?

In our testing it has performed adequately so far. Modern AIs do have their struggles with hallucinations and misinformation, but they seem to do better with relatively straight object recognition and explanations about what it has seen in video. It doesn't always get all the details right or tell every bit of important info, but it works to track objects and answer basic questions about what it has seen. Of course, like all LLMs there's lot of potential for improvement as video AI search training is refined. That brings us to another important point…

What if I don't want AI looking through all my security videos?

It's normal to have some privacy questions about AI, and this field is so new in home security that we're still learning about the risks ourselves. AIs generally want lots of information to train on, and using AI features in home cams typically gives the company permission to use your video footage for AI training.

Since the footage analyzed is generally kept in the cloud, it may also be more vulnerable to security flaws and employee abuse as well.

However, there are usually ways to turn AI assistants like Gemini off entirely or to avoid participating in the video AI search. You do not have to use these search features, but the companies offering them will be looking for ways to analyze your video footage any way they can. We do have options for video cameras without subscriptions if this all makes you nervous.

Some companies are more focused on privacy than others. Tete Xiao of Prompt AI noted that, with its home security platforms, "We never train on user data without explicit permission, and even then, we do not use personal details—period. We also give users the ability to permanently delete their data from our platform at any time" Look for signs like these if you're concerned about privacy.

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If you want to learn even more, check out our guide on if the police can seize your home security footage and the absolute worst spots to put security cameras.