Your Ring doorbell can now have Alexa greet visitors, take a message

Users of the Ring video doorbells and security cameras are about to get some new features, one of which taps  Amazon's Alexa assistant to help you greet visitors and keep your home safe, according to a Wednesday blog post. 

For Ring Video Doorbell Pro users who are also Ring Protect subscribers, you can set Alexa to greet visitors when they ring the bell. Alexa will ask how it can help, and based on the visitor's response, will either offer to take a message, or give directions for where to put package deliveries. You can set this up within your Ring App by going to the Smart Responses tile, and enabling Alexa Greetings. 

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Ring also added a feature called Quick Replies to all of its doorbells. If you can't get to the door, or don't want to answer it, you can choose from a list of six present responses, like "Please leave the package outside" or "We can't answer the door right now, but if you'd like to leave a message, you can do it now." You can watch the visitor leave a message in real time using Live View, or, if you're a Ring Protect subscriber, can access it anytime from your event history. 

Finally, if you have a Ring wired doorbell, a Spotlight Cam Wired, a Floodlight Cam or an Indoor Cam , new motion warnings will provide an audible alert letting visitors know they're being recorded. When your doorbell or camera detects motion, it will say "Warning -- you are now being monitored and recorded by Ring," making it clear that the camera is recording, to potentially deter unwanted visitors. You can turn this feature on or off in the Ring App.