It’s an exciting time to work in the consumer electronics sector, with artificial intelligence transforming just about every product and service imaginable. Home security is no exception. AI has become an indispensable asset, enabling helpful customer-facing features like package detection and smarter video timeline searches. Behind the scenes, we’re also using AI to significantly reduce ambient noise that can create false alarms, detect human movement on our customers’ properties earlier so our agents can intervene, and offer customers better protection.
Yet, as AI supercharges the speed and scale of home security capabilities, it doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for human involvement. What’s at stake is consumer trust and confidence in the products and services that companies deliver to customers. And in the world of home security, trust is paramount.
As a company, we’ve spent a lot of time defining exactly where AI belongs in a smart home security system. Today’s AI-powered video doorbells excel at routine convenience tasks, like alerting a user when a package lands on their porch. But there’s a meaningful difference between using AI for convenience and relying on it for protection. Missing a package notification might be frustrating, but misjudging a potential emergency can carry far higher stakes.
This distinction comes at a moment when consumers are already scrutinizing AI-powered experiences. According to a recent survey by SafeWise.com, nearly half of American households use security cameras, yet 54% of those surveyed are worried about artificial intelligence and its impact on their sense of security and safety. And according to an October 2025 Gartner survey, half of U.S. consumers prefer to do business with brands that avoid using GenAI in consumer-facing messages, advertising, and content. Together, these findings point to a broader challenge: consumers want to understand when AI is being used, why it’s being used, and whether it’s making their experience better.
The home security industry has changed significantly over the last decade with the advent of DIY systems, HD cameras, doorbells, and wireless system components. These changes have improved the customer experience, allowing homeowners to stay informed about activity on their property no matter where they are in the world. More recently, advances in AI have supercharged what home security systems and components are capable of. At SimpliSafe, we’re pairing AI-powered security cameras with trained security agents who can assess potential threats, intervene through our cameras, and proactively deter crime from happening in the first place. The AI in the camera quickly and efficiently detects human motion, and live agents provide the judgment needed to determine what action is warranted.
This human-in-the-loop approach works because, as we have seen, AI is not infallible. Systems that rely solely on artificial intelligence can misinterpret activity, generating false alarms that erode confidence over time. A security camera or video doorbell may correctly recognize motion but misinterpret what it means, mistaking a family pet for an intruder or a neighbor’s car brake lights for a possible fire. It’s a modern version of the boy who cried wolf. Over time, repeated false alarms teach consumers to tune out alerts and, ultimately, erode trust. In home security, an alert only has value if people trust it enough to act. For security providers and smart home electronics manufacturers, this creates a significant challenge.
Of course, trust extends beyond false alarms. A wave of national headlines has people asking fair questions about who controls the footage those cameras capture. Recent stories about AI-enabled neighborhood camera networks, third-party law enforcement access to doorbell footage, and connected-camera footage recovered in high-profile investigations have all put the category under a brighter spotlight.
This points to our belief at SimpliSafe, which is that we have a responsibility to be transparent with our customers and uphold their privacy as we deliver our service. Customers deserve to know how AI is being used, and the industry must treat privacy and control as essential parts of safety itself.
As AI becomes more deeply integrated in home security, the industry must resist the urge to automate human judgment completely out of the equation. Security is ultimately about protecting people, and that requires both advanced technology and human judgment. AI can help identify potential threats, but when ambiguity arises, people remain an essential part of the current equation.
