The Role of AI in Business Security

You’ve likely noticed a lot of talk about the growing use of AI in business. While some industries have a negative view of these developments, the outlook is more positive regarding the security installation business. That’s because AI can work to your advantage, helping security dealers, installers, and managers to close more deals and boost overall profits.

Below, we’ll explain how AI is transforming the security business, along with everything you need to know to stay ahead of your competition.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a machine to complete a task that would normally require human intelligence. Chances are you’ve already encountered AI (perhaps multiple times a day)—and you’re better off because of the experience. AI powers facial recognition software, voice-to-text software, Google translate, your favorite GPS app, and all those chat boxes that pop up whenever you’re on a company’s website.

Here’s what many people get wrong. Artificial intelligence isn’t synonymous with machine learning. Machine learning is a subfield of AI that refers to devices that get better at what they do over time without additional programming.

AI-enabled devices do more than imitate human behavior. In many cases, they surpass it. Many AI programs can sort through data, detect patterns, and make reliable predictions faster than the most intelligent humans.

Because of AI’s lightning-fast data sorting and pattern recognition, credit card companies rely on AI technology to monitor their customer accounts for fraudulent activity. E-commerce companies like Stitch Fix use AI to predict what customers want—and then recommend it to them. Siri, Alexa, and other smart assistants wouldn’t work without AI.

The Benefits of AI for Business Security Cameras

AI has transformed the world of security for the better. This is especially true with AI security camera systems. Below, we’ve explained three ways they outperform older, traditional models.

Benefit #1: Fewer False Alarms

Traditional systems use motion detection to sense movement. Back when that was new technology, motion detection was a vast improvement. Before motion detection, a camera would passively record. Without a human to pay attention to the feed, all sorts of mayhem could occur, and no one would be the wiser until they reviewed the footage. With motion detection, cameras can send an alert when the motion sensor was tripped, automatically calling law enforcement or nudging a human to pay attention to what’s unfolding in the feed.

The problem—many harmless things move around too. Deer, raccoons, pedestrians, flags, cars. They can all trigger a motion sensor leading police to mobilize for false alarms. Over time, those false alarms add up, giving your business a reputation with local authorities, who may decide to stop responding to your alarms altogether.

AI-powered security cameras solve this problem because they do much more than sense movement. They can rely on pattern-recognition software to help determine whether the movement came from something harmless (like a stray cat) or problematic (a human peeking in your windows). They sort “belongs there” from “doesn’t belong there” faster and more effectively than a human can.

Benefit #2: More Effective Security Monitoring

Here’s another difference between older video monitoring devices and the newer AI-powered options. Traditional cameras require humans to monitor them—and the typical human can only pay attention to one camera at a time. As a result, a company with a traditional security system will employ large numbers of security staff to sit in a room and watch the feeds.

You probably don’t need us to point this out, but we will: Watching feeds isn’t the most exciting work. It’s easy for a human’s attention to wane.

An AI-powered device automates a lot of the “watching.” AI can pay attention to multiple camera feeds simultaneously. If it senses something is off, within seconds, it can trigger a human to check things out. This opens the door to considerable cost savings, as one human can keep tabs on many more cameras.

To be clear: AI doesn’t eliminate the need for a human surveillance security guard. Rather, it helps guards see more, do more, and protect more.

Benefit #3: Fewer Human Resources Headaches

A side benefit of AI’s effectiveness: A company’s HR department will need to recruit and hire fewer security personnel. That’s extremely valuable, especially given recent labor shortages. Roughly 50% of respondents in one survey indicated that their security teams were experiencing human resource challenges. Outsourcing some of these positions to AI can eliminate or lessen these staffing headaches.

AI for Business Security: The Solution for Modern Security Dealers

Many of today’s businesses stay afloat with razor-thin profit margins. As a result, business owners constantly search for solutions that help them do more for less money. Using AI in business security is that solution. When you offer AI-powered systems, you can close more deals, boost your profits, and remain the area’s go-to installer or dealer for years to come.

When you sign up for Deep Sentinel’s security dealer program, you instantly add the power of AI-enabled security to your offering. The solution comes armed with high-definition security cameras, augmented by AI to differentiate threats from non-threats. Plus, the cameras don’t just record a crime in progress. They stop it in its tracks by notifying a live guard as soon as there’s suspicious activity, and then that guard intervenes with 2-way audio, sending the suspicious person running.

That’s business security, the 21st-century way.