Did you know that there are more private security guards in the U.S. than sworn police officers?
And did you know that an increasing number of those roles are being replaced, not by more personnel, but by artificial intelligence?
It’s already happening.
In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at a rapid pace, one company is bringing that revolution to a sector often overlooked in the tech conversation: physical security. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCID:AITX), a Detroit-based public company, is leading that transformation with a platform that’s already in the field, already working, and already changing how the security services industry thinks about manpower.
At the center of that transformation is SARA™, short for Speaking Autonomous Responsive Agent, a commercially deployed agentic AI platform that now powers autonomous security operations across hundreds of sites in the U.S. and beyond.
“SARA isn’t about prediction. It’s about presence,” said Steve Reinharz, founder and CEO of AITX. “We’ve moved past remote control and into full autonomy. We’re not augmenting guards anymore; we’re replacing the role entirely.”
From Reactive to Agentic: The Shift in Security
Traditionally, security has been a human-heavy industry, reliant on patrols, guards, and control rooms to monitor and respond to potential threats. Even with the introduction of cameras and alarm systems, the decision-making still rested with human personnel, slow, inconsistent, and increasingly expensive.
What SARA does differently is bring full autonomy to the edge.
SARA is not a dashboard or monitoring system, it’s an agent that observes, processes, and responds in real time. It detects unusual behavior. It flags threats. And it initiates action without waiting for human review. From issuing voice warnings to triggering alerts and recording high-resolution evidence, SARA acts as a self-contained first line of defense.
This is what Reinharz and his team refer to as “agentic AI”, technology that can operate without constant supervision, making judgment calls based on environmental input and training. That model doesn’t just improve performance; it fundamentally changes how security is delivered.
Embedded in Hardware, Built for Real Environments
What sets AITX apart is how SARA is embedded into a range of hardware platforms purpose-built for specific real-world use cases. The system integrates across the company’s ecosystem of autonomous devices: ROSA™, RIO™, and ROAMEO™.
Each is designed for different deployment environments:
- ROSA (Responsive Observation Security Agent) is a compact unit ideal for perimeter and semi-enclosed spaces.
- RIO (ROSA Independent Observatory) extends the same AI functionality to outdoor environments, including parking lots, construction zones, and industrial sites.
- ROAMEO (Rugged Observation Autonomous Mobile Electronic Officer) is a fully mobile unit capable of autonomous patrol routes and large-area surveillance.
Together, these devices form a flexible mesh of AI-powered presence, one that doesn’t sleep, doesn’t disengage, and doesn’t require overtime pay.
Recognized Innovation, Real-World Traction
In 2025, SARA earned industry-wide recognition when it received two New Product Showcase (NPS) Awards from the Security Industry Association (SIA). The awards underscored SARA’s impact on the security landscape and its unique position as a commercially viable autonomous platform
But awards alone aren’t what make SARA real. It’s the deployments. Across corporate campuses, logistics facilities, multifamily properties, and public spaces, AITX systems are active, responding to events, recording data, and demonstrating what post-manual security looks like in action.
“We don’t have to imagine what AI-powered security would look like,” Reinharz said. “It’s already running.”
A Category Under Pressure
The timing couldn’t be more critical. With U.S. security guard wages rising, labor shortages increasing, and turnover reaching all-time highs, the traditional model of placing human guards in every location is breaking down.
Many organizations, especially those responsible for protecting property at scale, are re-evaluating whether it makes sense to keep hiring people for jobs AI can now handle more consistently and cost-effectively.
AITX isn’t arguing that humans don’t matter. The company is arguing that manual coverage is no longer scalable, and that agentic AI is not only cheaper, but more precise, more durable, and more accountable.
It’s not a pitch. It’s a shift.
From Visibility to Infrastructure
As AI continues to dominate headlines, the focus is often on chatbots, virtual assistants, or enterprise data tools. But the physical world, the sidewalks, the campuses, the perimeters of warehouses, is where agentic AI may quietly have the greatest impact.
AITX is betting that as trust in AI deepens, organizations will shift from asking whether autonomous systems can work to asking how fast they can scale.
And SARA, already embedded, already proven, may just be the new infrastructure waiting to be recognized.
