Ask any operator about AI in security and you'll hear about cameras. Ask their CFO and you might get a different answer.
AI in Security: Why the Back Office Is Winning
Product Headlines
The product side gets the headlines.
Smarter VMS, edge analytics, agentic monitoring.
It's important work, and a lot of operators are doing it well.
Phase Two
What I keep coming back to is AI inside the business itself.
At a recent State of the Industry panel, John Petruzzi at Unlimited Technology framed it as Phase 2: agents working inside AP, AR, recruiting, dispatch, and the sales cycle.
Business enablement, not product enablement.
The Gap
McKinsey's 2026 Global Private Markets Report puts a number on it.
Only 6% of GPs say AI delivers high impact in their internal ops today. But 70% expect it within 3 to 5 years.
The same gap shows up at the operator level.
Current Experiments
Here's where we're experimenting right now:
- Service-ticket triage
- RMR collections
- Inbound lead qualification
Some of it works. Some of it's messy. None of it is finished.
The Real Wins
The cameras still get the marketing budget. But the back office is quietly running away with the productivity gains.
The bottom line? AI in security isn't just about smarter surveillance. The operators who focus on business enablement alongside product innovation will pull ahead.
And as more companies move into Phase 2, expect the real ROI stories to come from places you wouldn't expect: AP, AR, dispatch, and sales.
What's working in your business?