Visual Intelligence Emerges as the Next Frontier in Security

For years, video surveillance has been viewed primarily as a cost center for loss prevention, but that use case represents a tiny fraction of its operational potential. Surveillance is a powerful source of real-time intelligence that can save time, drastically reduce costs and help deliver an elevated customer experience.

Getting to those outcomes takes a serious mindshift from reactive, instinctive security operations to a data-driven, enterprise-wide approach. Making that idea a reality requires purpose-built AI tools that can take what the cameras capture and turn it into actionable intelligence.

The Security Industry Association (SIA) foresaw this shift in its 2024 report, reframing “visual surveillance” into “visual intelligence” with AI’s help. It’s the difference between merely seeing what’s happening in each location and understanding the impact on the business. AI can drive faster reactions, fewer missed opportunities, and smarter long-term decisions. Here’s how.

The ROI of AI-powered intelligence

Chances are, whether you realize it or not, you’re already using data to make decisions about inventory, staffing, space planning and much more. AI is supporting decision-making across industries with 53% of large retailers using it for store analytics and over a quarter (27%) of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers employing it for demand forecasting. Further, more than half (54%) of executives see AI as crucial for loss prevention.

Think about it: human review of video footage can be incredibly inefficient, taking dozens or even hundreds of hours to find relevant information and requiring dedicated staff just to watch and analyze it. Live monitoring of camera feeds is equally difficult, demanding perfect awareness at all times and constant personnel coverage.

In contrast, AI-powered capabilities like automated object detection (such as forgotten luggage at an airport) and event classification (e.g., improper safety gear usage) can identify patterns and anomalies faster and more accurately. For security purposes alone, this supports:

• Real-time safety and security: Real-time analysis can identify unauthorized access to restricted areas, detect slip-and-fall incidents, or alert security personnel to potentially hostile behavior, allowing for immediate response and minimizing liabilities.
  
  
• Automated responses: An AI-powered system can not only deliver accurate insights but take actions, from controlling access to systems and physical spaces to preserving visual evidence.
  
  
• Faster investigations: AI can quickly search hundreds of hours of video footage for a specific person, vehicle, or event, drastically reducing investigation time from days to minutes.
  
  
• Resource optimization: Intelligent alerts mean security teams can focus on verifiable risks, reducing false alarms and optimizing security personnel deployment.
  
  
• Asset tracking: Use cases such as monitoring inventory, supply chain logistics, and equipment location help prevent loss and improve flow, saving time and reducing costs.

These efficiencies translate into tangible business value, reducing labor costs by saving valuable work hours while delivering higher quality insights in real time. But while security is one essential application, AI can extend the value of video-based capabilities to the entire organization.

Beyond security: Enterprise optimization

AI empowers personnel to act based on a more complete understanding of events, using both live and recorded video data. This can impact operational processes across the organization, as video input is no longer just pictures and sound. It’s now data supporting business intelligence. In other words, smart surveillance.

With AI drawing from company-wide video assets and correlating them with relevant backend data in real time, you can vastly improve:

• Customer behavior: By spotting key indicators such as foot traffic patterns, dwell time in certain areas of a retail location, and cart abandonment, you’re better positioned to improve the experience while encouraging optimal shopping time and revenue. You can also better assess staffing needs, based on more than just how many people come through the door at a given time.
  
  
• Queue management: From airport check-in and security flows to checkout counters, AI-supported analytics help adjust staffing and lane planning to shrink customer wait times. This enables leaders to make better decisions about layouts, staffing, and even the location of signage and facilities.
  
  
• Workflows and workplaces: With deeper analysis of visual information, you can more easily monitor and maximize floor efficiency, identify bottlenecks and redundancies in workflows, optimize fleet management, minimize loading dock congestion, or analyze staff movement to improve productivity.
  
  
• Safety, PPE compliance, and incident prevention: AI can analyze video to track the safe and compliant use of equipment, identify pedestrian hazards, and ensure protective gear is used as required. This can give EHS professionals a crucial head start on preventing workplace illness or injury.

Most importantly, AI-powered visual intelligence can inform strategic decision-making. By analyzing visual data that shows how both customers and employees actually behave in the real world, AI can inform decisions on everything from marketing campaigns to predictive maintenance based on visual anomalies.

AI empowers organizations to anticipate problems before they escalate and to identify opportunities that would otherwise be invisible.