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The power of AI in video surveillance: revolutionizing loss prevention

December 3, 2023

Katie McCann

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It seems like you can’t escape the conversations around artificial intelligence (AI) or how it will continue to change technology — and AI in video surveillance is no exception.

AI and video surveillance are two things that are just better together. It’s like peanut butter and jelly. While you can have a peanut butter sandwich or a jelly sandwich, you can have both and it’s just a bit better.

That’s what pairing AI and video surveillance does. You can have video surveillance on its own, but adding the AI just makes it way better. And that way better can completely revolutionize your loss prevention efforts.

But what does that revolution look like? How do these two things really work together? We’ll go over:

How AI and video surveillance work together
How does AI and video surveillance impact loss prevention
Ways you can upgrade your video surveillance systems

How do AI and Video Surveillance Work Together?

One of the big “fears” around AI is that it can be so hard to understand. So, let’s break down how AI and video surveillance work together in a way that uses as little technical wording as possible.

Think of your standard video surveillance system as a security guard working in a busy convenience store. The guard has worked there for years, and things have been good. It’s up to them to spot any specific activity or theft, and then take the appropriate steps to stop it.

For the sake of analogy, imagine that this guard works 24/7. They’re never tired, they’re always doing laps of the store, and they are constantly on alert for anything that may go wrong.

However, they can’t be at every location at every second. And they definitely cannot be at numerous convenience stores at once.

Unless we were in a Superhero movie. Imagine this security guard was bitten by a radioactive spider (or grew up on another planet or bought a super suit — take your choice of hero origin story!). His superpower gives him the ability to take even more information at once. Their superpower can tell them if something is going wrong or when it’s likely to go wrong, without them having to look right at the scene. It works as an extra set of eyes, letting our now-Super Guard focus on moments that need them without worrying about missing anything.

While this may not be the next blockbuster smash hit, this is a great way to break down what AI is — a superpower that supercharges your video surveillance efforts.

Instead of relying on a person taking hours of their day to review the footage from the security system, the AI analyzes the video feed using advanced algorithms. It can identify patterns, recognize objects and people, and detect suspicious behavior.

The AI acts as the brain of the surveillance system, quickly processing the visual data and making a record of potential risks. It can automatically detect unauthorized access to certain parts of your business, unsafe practices taking place (think leaving a cash drawer or back door open, or prepping food without washing hands or wearing gloves), monitor unusual movements, and raise alarms when necessary.

By leveraging AI, your video surveillance becomes super-charged.

How Does AI and Video Surveillance Impact Loss Prevention?

We’ve said it before in this article and we’ll say it again. The short answer is that pairing AI with video surveillance revolutionizes your loss prevention efforts.

Pairing AI and video surveillance empowers loss prevention efforts by providing advanced capabilities for monitoring, detecting, and preventing various security incidents.

But you’re looking for the long answer! So, let’s dive into the long answer — here are X ways that AI and video surveillance improve your loss prevention efforts.

1. Real-Time Monitoring

AI-powered video surveillance systems can continuously monitor areas of interest in your QSR, C-store, or retail stores in real-time. Real-time monitoring can be powerful in notifying people of situations that happen, when, and how to deal with them. This can look like receiving a notification to your personal device or a report at the end of a set time of what happened. This makes your information digestible!

2. Object Tracking

By using AI in your video surveillance, you can literally track where objects end up and have it flagged for you. This not only saves you hours on sifting through footage, but hundreds to thousands of dollars in lost merchandise.

Take the example below. Somebody enters a store and immediately gets up to some less-than-desirable behavior — especially when it comes to your loss prevention efforts. They take the shoes right off the rack and then go return them. This results in them receiving a giftcard worth hundreds of dollars.

Hundreds of dollars your store just lost from the bottom line.

However, your AI-powered video surveillance makes it easy to track this down, meaning you can void any gift cards and keep your cash in pocket.

Pro tip: When you partner with a service like DTiQ, the search for all of this will also have a human lens attached, meaning you just need to wait for the updates to come to your inbox. A lot of the time, theft will be flagged for you by DTiQ’s team of expert auditors before you even know it happened!

3. Alarms and Triggers

AI-powered video surveillance systems can generate real-time alerts or triggers when predefined events occur, such as unauthorized access to restricted areas, motion in prohibited zones, or specific behavior patterns. These alerts can be sent to security personnel or integrated with other security systems to facilitate immediate response.

4. Smart Monitoring of “Secure” Spaces

Areas like your cash offices and behind the register are at high risk of loss. Employee theft runs rampant, so you need to make sure these areas are being monitored by video surveillance. You can even have smart monitoring of shopper-facing secure spaces, or areas more prone to theft. This could be easily grabbable merchandise, like candy, or age-restricted merchandise you notice is going missing, like vapes or cigarettes.

By having AI-equipped video surveillance watch these “secure” areas, you can see if loss is taking place. If employees are caught, you can take swift and necessary action. If you’re catching a lot of theft taking place over certain merchandise areas, maybe you add a sign letting them know they’re on HD camera to minimize their behavior or move around merchandise.

5. Data Analytics and Insights

Video surveillance systems equipped with AI can analyze large volumes of video data and provide valuable insights for loss prevention strategies. This includes identifying high-risk areas, determining peak hours for incidents, or recognizing recurring patterns of theft or fraud. Such insights enable businesses to optimize security measures and allocate resources effectively.

6. Investigations:

Loss prevention isn’t always stopping people from taking cash out of the register. Preventing loss can also look like having the footage required to prove due diligence in the case of an accident or injury, or proving employees who were injured weren’t necessarily following safety protocol.

By having AI-powered video surveillance in place, you can prove with ease that the injuries sustained weren’t due to negligence on your fault — meaning you won’t lose tens of thousands of dollars (or more) on injury payouts.

It’s near impossible to make informed decisions about how to entirely handle your loss prevention efforts if you don’t have eyes on the store and somebody sorting through what those eyes see. The cameras record what’s happening, but AI pulls out the insights you might not have time to watch for.

Understanding More from Experts: AI and Video Surveillance

It’s time to unlock your loss prevention superpower by leveraging AI and video surveillance in your standard practice.

Overall, AI and video surveillance empower loss prevention efforts by automating monitoring processes, enhancing situational awareness, detecting anomalies, and providing valuable data-driven insights. These technologies enable businesses and organizations to mitigate security risks, reduce losses, and improve overall safety and security.

See how DTiQ’s advanced video surveillance, powered by AI, can help. You can contact us or book a demo to see our technology in action.

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The power of AI in video surveillance: revolutionizing loss prevention

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