Wyze cams are getting AI-powered video search

AI-powered video descriptions are the new hotness when it comes to security cameras. Amazon’s Ring cameras and Google’s Nest cams are already doing them, and now Wyze is joining the party. 

Available now as part of a new–and pricey–“Cam Unlimited Pro” plan, Wyze’s “descriptive alerts” serve up AI-generated captions for video events captured by your Wyze cams, complete with “important details and contextual information.” 

So, rather than getting Wyze alerts that just say “Driveway” or “Bedroom,” subscribers to the new plan will get AI descriptions with details such as “Three babies are helping each other climb out of their cribs,” or “Front Door caught a suspicious person walking up to the porch and picking up a package.” 

Besides the AI-powered video alerts, Wyze users are also getting AI search, meaning you can find clips in your video history using natural-language queries. 

If that kind of functionality sounds familiar, it’s because Amazon and Google are already in on the AI action with their respective security cameras. 

Last October, Amazon-owned Ring rolled out “Smart Video Search,” an AI-powered feature that lets Ring users search for video events with—you guessed it—natural-language prompts. 

About a month later, Google began testing descriptive video events powered by Gemini AI for its Nest cams. 

Wyze’s AI-generated video alerts (which are compatible with all Wyze cams except for the Wyze Cam v1, the Wyze Video Doorbell v1, and the Wyze Cam Outdoor v1) are included in the brand’s just-announced Cam Unlimited Pro plan, which will set you back $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year. 

The plan covers all your Wyze cameras and also offers smart object detection (including for people, pets vehicles, and packages), suspicious sound alerts, facial recognition, and a web view for live feeds and recorded events, among other features. 

Cam Unlimited Pro subscribers are also slated to get 60 days of cloud storage by this spring, Wyze says. For now, the limit is 14 days of video storage, same as with Wyze’s $4.99/month Cam Plus and $9.99/month Cam Unlimited plans.

It’s worth noting that the separate $9.99/month Wyze Home Monitoring plan, which offers sensor alerts through Wyze’s home security system plus 24/7 professional monitoring, is not compatible with the new Cam Unlimited Pro plan, according to Wyze.  

That means if you’re a Wyze Home Monitoring subscriber and opt for the Cam Unlimited Pro plan, the latter plan will replace the Wyze Home Monitoring tab, you’ll lose the professional monitoring, and your sensors “will no longer be tied to your security plan,” a Wyze FAQ explains.