Amazon Introduces Alexa-Powered Ring Doorbell With Personalized Visitor Greetings
Amazon has released a new Alexa Plus feature that lets your Ring doorbell greet and chat with visitors at your front door. The feature, called Greetings, is rolling out today to Alexa Plus Early Access customers in the United States and Canada.
Greetings works by combining two previously released features: Ring Video Descriptions, which uses artificial intelligence to describe what the Ring camera sees, and Alexa Plus, a beefed-up version of Alexa built on a large language model.
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“Ring’s camera determines who is there based on what they are wearing, holding or their actions,” an Amazon spokesperson said. in an ad. “Alexa uses this visual context, all the information shared by the visitor and the instructions given to them.”
You can customize what the greeting says so that the doorbell can handle interactions on your behalf. Using Ring video descriptions, the camera can detect what a visitor is wearing, such as a delivery uniform, and direct the conversation accordingly.
One example Amazon provides is asking delivery drivers to leave packages out of sight or out the back door, instead of leaving them on the porch. Another example the company provided was politely letting attorneys know you’re not interested.
Or, if a friend comes by while you’re busy, your doorbell can let them know you’re not available and ask them if they’d like to leave a message. Greetings are also set up for follow-up questions, like when you’ll be available to talk or if the delivery driver will need a passcode to enter the yard.
The announcement also mentions that Greetings can handle interactions with home visitors without revealing whether you are home or not. Interactions with the greeting doorbell are separate from other smart home controls.
The new feature is available for Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd generation) and Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd generation) with the Ring Premium plan and video descriptions enabled. You will need to purchase a Ring subscription before you can set up your doorbell to communicate with visitors at your front door.
