Ring's new Search Party feature can help you find your lost dog — here's how it works

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Over 1 million pets went missing last year and Ring's new AI feature might just change that

Ring doorbell search party feature
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Among other new features announced at Amazon's event, Ring announced Search Party, an AI-powered community feature that turns outdoor Ring cameras into a neighborhood network for finding lost dogs.

The feature launches as pet owners posted over 1 million lost or found pet reports in the Ring app during the last year alone. Search Party uses artificial intelligence to scan outdoor camera footage for dogs matching descriptions of missing pets reported in the app. When a potential match is detected, nearby camera owners receive notifications with images and relevant footage that might help reunite the dog with its family. Rolling out in November to users in the U.S., Ring plans to expand this feature to cats and other animals at a later date.

How Search Party works

When your dog goes missing, you report it in the Ring app with a description and photo of your missing pet. This alert triggers Search Party for outdoor Ring cameras in the surrounding area.

AI analyzes footage from participating outdoor cameras to identify dogs that potentially match the lost pet's description. The system looks for visual matches based on the information provided in the missing dog report.

Camera owners receive notifications when a possible match is detected. The alert includes a picture of the reported lost dog alongside relevant footage from your camera showing the potential match.

You control whether to participate in each Search Party. When you receive an alert about a possible match, you can choose to ignore it or share the footage with the neighbor who reported the lost dog.

The feature reflects Ring's broader vision of using AI to create connected communities where neighbors actively help each other. Search Party represents one application of this community-focused approach to smart home technology.

Compatible Ring devices

Search Party works with the following Ring cameras and doorbells:

Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models are compatible with Search Party and can participate in lost dog alerts.

Floodlight Cams: All models work with the feature to help locate missing pets in your area.

Spotlight Cams: All models support Search Party functionality for finding lost dogs.

Stick Up Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

Outdoor Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

We're curious to see how well this feature works, and if it will help set Ring video doorbells apart from the best video doorbells. Now that AI is being integrated into just about every company's product, it's features like this that could differentiate one device from another.

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Kaycee Hill
Kaycee Hill
How-to Editor

Kaycee is Tom's Guide's How-To Editor, known for tutorials that get straight to what works. She writes across phones, homes, TVs and everything in between — because life doesn't stick to categories and neither should good advice. She's spent years in content creation doing one thing really well: making complicated things click. Kaycee is also an award-winning poet and co-editor at Fox and Star Books.

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