INSIGHTS

What is an AI security camera? A comprehensive guide

April 14, 2025

If you’re responsible for security, operations, or loss prevention, you already know the truth – your video system is generating more footage than your team can ever review.

It’s likely you’ve got dozens, or hundreds, of cameras recording 24/7, yet critical events still get missed, investigations take too long, and your team is stuck manually scrubbing through footage that may never even be reviewed.

The problem isn’t the hardware, it’s that traditional video systems are passive by design. They record, they store, but they don’t interpret. And they certainly don’t help your team respond in real time or identify patterns that drive business improvement.

It’s for this reason that many organizations are rethinking how they use video security – not just as a tool to secure their business, but as a strategic asset that enhances operations.

In large part, a shift is being driven by artificial intelligence (AI) security cameras, or more accurately, the software that transforms traditional video cameras into intelligent, decision-supporting tools.

You’re probably thinking – ‘how expensive is it going to be to replace all of my existing security with cameras that have AI?’

Well, here’s the best part. You don’t need to rip and replace your existing hardware. With technologies like Solink, AI lives on the software layer, allowing you to enhance your current video setup to solve real business problems.

This article will explore what AI security cameras are, the difference between AI-powered security software, and how you can use this innovative technology to make faster, smarter business decisions across your organization.

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So, what is an AI security camera?

When you search for an AI security camera, you’ll find two main approaches:

Cameras with built-in AI hardware
Software platforms, like Solink, that apply AI to your existing video systems

At first glance, these may sound similar, but they operate in fundamentally different ways, and only one offers the flexibility, scalability, and long-term value growing businesses need.

AI-enabled hardware cameras

These are physical cameras with embedded AI chips. The AI runs locally on the device, which can be useful for simple functions like motion detection or license plate recognition at the edge. But this model comes with drawbacks:

High upfront costs for proprietary cameras.
Limited processing power – each camera has finite capabilities.
Locked ecosystem – harder to integrate with other business tools.
Static performance – hardware-based AI becomes outdated quickly.

AI-powered security software

Instead of baking AI into the camera, Solink applies AI on the software layer, using the cloud to analyze video across all your existing devices. This model:

Extends the value of your current camera infrastructure.
Scales with your business – add locations, users, or data sources anytime.
Integrates video with POS, inventory, and other business systems.
Centralizes everything – from real-time alerts to searchable footage.

Why does this matter?

The truth is, many buyers start their journey looking for “AI security cameras,” thinking they need new hardware. In reality, hardware is just the lens, software is the intelligence. Here at Solink, for example, we transform your video network into a proactive, business-wide intelligence tool without the cost or limitations of AI hardware systems.

Why AI is reshaping the future of business video security

As businesses become increasingly data-driven and reliant on technology, the need for real-time intelligence and automation has become urgent. AI security answers that call both from a physical security perspective and risk mitigation/operational efficiency perspective.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the AI video analytics market is projected to grow from 8.3 billion USD in 2023 to $22.6 billion by 2028. The reason? Businesses want insight, not just footage.

Traditional video security systems may generate enormous amounts of data, but without AI, that data is underused. Your team simply doesn’t have time to sift through footage, much less correlate it with transactions, schedules, or anomalies. AI – as well as the integration of video security with other technologies like your POS – changes that.

Businesses that continue relying solely on legacy video systems risk being left behind. As AI becomes a competitive standard, not just a nice-to-have, teams that embrace it now are positioning themselves for greater agility, efficiency, and impact.

Importantly, AI doesn’t replace your people – it empowers them.

Security, LP, and operations professionals can focus on high-value work instead of sifting through hours of footage or chasing reactive reports. By leveraging AI, your team becomes more proactive, more informed, and better equipped to protect assets, improve workflows, and lead with confidence in a data-first world.

Let’s dive into the key capabilities of AI-powered security cameras in more detail

Real-time video intelligence

In traditional systems, footage is reviewed after something goes wrong. AI flips that model by analyzing live video feeds in real time. Using machine learning algorithms, the system understands what’s happening in the moment, automatically flagging behaviors like loitering, after-hours movement, or someone entering a restricted area. This enables your team to step in while the situation is still unfolding, not after the damage is done.

Conduct live or scheduled spot checks

AI gives you the power to perform live or scheduled spot checks on critical aspects of your business, without the need for manual oversight or time-consuming audits. Using AI functionality you have the power to conduct checks such as ensuring employees are in uniform, checking whether safe doors are open or closed, making sure security guards or employees are standing where they should be and many other use cases.

Point-of-sales anomaly detection

AI shines when it can surface what your team would otherwise miss, especially when it comes to transactional anomalies. Solink, for example, doesn’t just link video to your POS system; it uses AI to help identify patterns and events that fall outside the norm. Think of it as a watchdog for unusual behavior: high-value refunds, repeated no-sale entries, excessive discounts, or transactions processed outside typical hours.

Instead of digging through hours of footage or scanning endless reports, your team is instantly alerted to threshold-triggered events, paired with the exact video moment they happened. Whether it’s potential theft, employee misuse, or a training issue, Solink brings it to the surface in seconds. It’s about giving your loss prevention and operations teams smart, targeted visibility, so they can act faster, and with full context.

Advanced video search

Reviewing video used to mean endless fast-forwarding and time-stamping. With AI, footage becomes searchable like a database. Want to see every time someone enters a supply room after 9 PM last week? Done. Need to pull up all transactions over $500 with matching video? Easy. Using AI to search your video footage lets you zero in on critical moments instantly, freeing up your team’s time and enabling faster, evidence-backed decision-making.

How AI-powered security cameras solve cross-departmental challenges

AI-powered video isn’t just a tool for security teams, it’s a cross-functional solution that brings clarity and intelligence to many areas of your business. From loss prevention to operations to IT, every team benefits when video becomes smarter, searchable, and tied to business data.

By removing silos between physical security and business analytics, AI helps teams collaborate more effectively and respond faster to challenges. This convergence is especially valuable for organizations with multiple locations or limited resources, where visibility gaps can lead to inefficiencies, compliance risks, and financial loss.

Let’s take a closer look at how AI-powered security cameras deliver measurable value across departments:

Loss prevention and asset protection

Reduce shrink from internal and external theft
Proactively detect suspicious behavior before incidents occur
Investigate faster, prove incidents with context-rich video and data

Operations and store management

Spot workflow bottlenecks and customer service gaps
Use heatmaps to understand dwell time and traffic patterns
Monitor compliance with health and safety protocols
Set hourly spot checks to ensure shelves are sufficiently stocked

Security and IT

Centralize visibility across multi-site operations
Scale video access and alerting with role-based permissions
Meet data privacy and compliance standards (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)

The benefits of software-based AI security

Let’s be clear: the power of an AI security camera is in the software, not the lens.

Upgrading your entire fleet of cameras to get “AI” is expensive and locks you into hardware refresh cycles that can’t keep pace with AI innovation. Instead, companies such as Solink that leverage AI on the software side enable your business to:

Keep your current investment in place
Activate AI capabilities instantly through the cloud
Benefit from continuous updates and new features over time

This model also future-proofs your business. As AI evolves, so does your system, without ever having to touch your camera hardware.

When looking for an AI-powered security camera solution, consider these key features that will dramatically enhance the ROI you get from your system:

Must-have features	Why it matters
Works with existing cameras	Avoids costly hardware replacement.
Cloud-based platform	Enables real-time access and reduces IT overhead.
POS/data integration	Adds operational insight to your security solution.
Real-time alerts	Proactive response, not reactive investigation.
Searchable footage	Speeds up investigations and compliance reviews.
Role-based access control	Protects data and simplifies user permissions.
Proven compliance posture	Supports GDPR, CCPA and other industry regulations.

See first-hand how Solink can turn video into business intelligence

Solink isn’t just a security platform. It’s a business visibility platform that connects your video feeds with the data that drives your operations.

If you’re not convinced yet, take a look at this simple success story below:

Huck’s, a massive convenience store chain in the U.S., uses Solink’s powerful AI analytics to track customer traffic, optimize staffing, and monitor gaming room activity. Since the implementation, Huck’s has used Solink as an essential tool streamlining operations and improving efficiency across all of their locations.

Learn more about how Huck’s uses Solink’s innovative AI security solution, or see first-hand how Solink can be used in specific real-world use cases by reading the Solink Playbooks.

Are you ready to see how Solink can transform your existing video security cameras into a proactive business tool that leverages AI for improved ROI? Book a personalized demo today and learn how Solink can help you reduce loss, streamline operations and make smarter business decisions.

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