Amazon’s Ring expands AI-powered network to help locate lost dogs
Feature is now available for people who don't own a Ring device
Amazon’s Ring is rolling out an AI-powered feature designed to help locate missing dogs by scanning footage from neighborhood security cameras – and it’s now available nationwide, even to people who don’t own the company's devices.
The expansion opens one of Ring’s core features to non-customers for the first time, effectively broadening the company’s ecosystem beyond hardware owners and positioning it as a wider neighborhood platform rather than just a doorbell and home-security business.
"Before Search Party, the best you could do was drive up and down the neighborhood, shouting your dog's name in hopes of finding them," Ring chief inventor Jamie Siminoff said in a statement. He added that the feature allows pet owners to enlist nearby neighbors and cameras to help locate lost animals more quickly.
A golden retriever runs around a park. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Ring is also committing $1 million to help equip animal shelters across the U.S. with its camera systems, a move the company says is aimed at helping shelters identify and reunite lost dogs with their owners more efficiently.
The effort is expected to reach thousands of shelters nationwide, with Ring partnering with organizations including Petco Love and Best Friends Animal Society.
A doorbell device with a built-in camera made by home security company Ring is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
When a dog is reported missing through the Ring app, participating outdoor cameras in the area use AI-powered computer vision to look for animals that resemble the missing pet. If a potential match is detected, the camera owner receives an alert and can choose whether to share the footage with the person searching for their dog.
Ring's security app experienced major outages on Wednesday. (Ring.com)
Ring says video sharing remains optional and is handled on a case-by-case basis, allowing camera owners to decide whether to participate while maintaining control over their footage.
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Lost pets are among the most common posts on Ring’s Neighbors app. The company says more than 1 million lost or found pet reports were made on the platform last year alone, highlighting the scale of the problem the feature is designed to address.
