Video doorbells go some way to ensuring you always know when someone's at your door, but if you’re not at home and can’t answer the alert on your phone, you may still miss them. With this in mind, Ring has unveiled a new feature that lets Alexa answer the door and take a message for you.
Alexa Greetings sees Amazon’s voice assistant greet the person on your doorstep once the doorbell has been pressed. It also asks the purpose of the person’s visit. Depending upon the response, it will offer to take a message or provide instructions of where packages should be left.
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You can specify how long before Alexa should answer the doorbell and the instructions for deliveries in the Ring app. Any messages taken by Alexa can also be seen in the Events section of the app.
Alexa Greetings, which is only available if you have a Ring Video Doorbell Pro and a subscription to Ring Protect, is one of three 'Smart Responses' being rolled out in the US.
Smart Responses
The two other 'Smart Responses' are available on all Ring Video Doorbells with the exception of the new entry-level Ring Video Doorbell Wired.
Quick Replies lets you choose from six pre-recorded messages including “Please leave the package outside” or “We can’t answer the door right now”. There’s even an option that asks the visitor to wait a few moments, giving you more time to answer the door.
All of the Quick Replies also offer the caller the chance to leave a message. If you’re at home and don’t feel like getting the door, you’ll be able to watch the message in the Ring app, and if you subscribe to Ring Protect, which costs from $3 / £2.50 / AU$4 per month, you’ll be able to access the message at any time.
The third feature; Motion Warnings, is available on the same Video Doorbells as well as the Floodlight Cam, Indoor Cam and Spotlight Cam and warns anyone detected by the camera that they are being recorded. Ring says it hopes this may deter unwanted visitors.
Ring’s announcement comes just days after a Ring user spotted the Smart Responses section in their app but found it didn’t do anything when tapped.
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