As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly choose a video doorbell for your home in the UK.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Gather your budget, property type, existing doorbell or chime details, power supply, Wi-Fi strength at the front door, phone and smart-home ecosystem, subscription preference and privacy requirements.
   2. Take a clear photo of the entrance from outside and inside, and note where a doorbell could be mounted, what it would point at and whether drilling or visible cabling is allowed.
   3. Open a chatbot and paste the prompt with your details, then add the entrance photo or description and ask it to separate verified facts from assumptions.
   4. Open the manufacturer pages for each shortlisted model and compare the power requirements, mounting method, storage, subscriptions, UK compatibility, privacy controls and warranty with the chatbot's table.
   5. Check the likely camera view against your entrance and the areas outside your property, and remove any model that cannot provide the required view without unnecessary recording of neighbours or public space.
   6. Check the chosen model's current return terms and installation requirements before ordering, then arrange suitable installation if the power supply or mounting work is beyond your ability.

   Prompt

   Act as a careful UK smart-home product researcher. Help me choose a video doorbell for my home, but do not make a confident recommendation from missing information.
   
   My details:
   - Budget: [amount and currency]
   - Front door location and property type: [details]
   - Existing wired doorbell, chime or power supply: [details or unknown]
   - Wi-Fi router location and signal at the front door: [details or unknown]
   - Phone, smart-home or voice-assistant ecosystem: [details]
   - Whether I want local storage, cloud storage or either: [preference]
   - Subscription tolerance: [none, low, or acceptable]
   - Need for live view, package detection, night vision, two-way audio or continuous recording: [requirements]
   - Privacy concerns, including whether the camera may capture neighbours or public space: [details]
   - Installation limits, including renting, drilling or visible cables: [details]
   - A photo or description of the entrance and likely camera position: [details]
   
   First, list the missing facts that could change the recommendation. Then produce a shortlist of suitable products currently available in the UK, using current manufacturer or retailer information if browsing is available. For each product, show the evidence for UK availability, power requirements, installation requirements, field of view, night performance, storage model, subscription requirements, smart-home compatibility, privacy controls, warranty and any important limitation. Do not invent specifications, prices, subscription terms or compatibility. Mark anything that needs checking as unverified.
   
   Recommend one option only if the supplied information supports it. Otherwise give the best shortlist and explain what I must verify before buying. Include a separate checklist for checking the product against my entrance, Wi-Fi, power supply, viewing angle, privacy requirements and return policy. Do not advise me to record areas I have no right to record, and do not treat marketing claims as proof of performance.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.