I tried Wyze Cam's new AI-powered video search feature

Wyze just released a new AI-powered video search feature for its best home security cameras. It lets you quickly type specific text prompts to find matching events in the app. This way, you don't have to manually search through multiple timelines and thumbnails on each of your cameras to pull up the clips you're looking for.

AI-powered video search is a unique feature that can only be accessed by Wyze Cam owners who are subscribed to the company's Cam Unlimited plan. This plan also unlocks other advanced features like facial recognition. I had the chance to play around with the new feature a bit ahead of today's big launch, and here's how it worked during this preview phase.

After updating my Wyze app to the latest version, a little magnifying glass button was added to the right corner of my Events tab. Clicking this icon opens a search box where you can enter vague or hyper-specific text descriptions. In my testing, I was able to search for “white dog” and “tall person” to instantly find clips of the culprits that triggered the motion events you can see in the images below.

The more detailed I got, the more the system struggled. While “white dog” accurately detected my pet, the results were missing some clips where the dog was featured front and center earlier in the day. Wyze has stated that the system can identify certain things like “trash cans, gardening tools, and even characteristics 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 found no matching footage.

(Image credit: Future)

The AI for video search is powered by the company's own Wyze Vision Language Model, so I'll cut it some leniency. It's an in-house solution developed by a lean and independent team. I don't expect Google- or Meta-level accuracy, but it could still use a bit more training before it's fully mature. With user input over time, it will get better at recognizing more mundane objects like trash cans or tools. For now, it makes it easier to find people, animals, vehicles, or packages at certain times of day than manually scrolling through thumbnails.

This feature does what it's supposed to – it quickly monitors the things you care about. Just manage your expectations a bit. Wyze used a sample prompt: “Show me a delivery guy with red roses,” and I haven't gotten the system quite that far in the time I've been using it. But the prompt “Show me my dog in the backyard” works great.

AI-powered video search will cost Wyze Cam owners $9.99 per month for the Cam Unlimited subscription, but with advanced features like facial recognition and cloud storage for all your budget Wyze cams, it's not a bad deal. Keep in mind that if you don't have a Wyze subscription, notifications are limited by an artificial cooling-off period, and you lose the basic AI detection that tells you whether an object 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 inspires competitors like Eufy and Ring in the future.

I tried Wyze Cam's new AI-powered video search feature – this is what happened

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