🧠 We Gave Delta’s Security Team AI Eyes

#PreSales #AIIntegration #ClientDiscovery

During a site visit to Delta Airlines, I noticed something unexpected: a wall-mounted screen cycling through mugshots. Security guards were manually scanning faces against a printed “banned visitor” list.

They were frustrated, inefficient — and overwhelmed. It was like expecting Google-level results from a flipbook. That’s when I had an idea.

The Suggestion: “Describe the Person Instead”

I proposed an AI-based image matcher that could take **verbal traits** (e.g. “male, mid-30s, beard, dark hoodie”) and return a ranked list of likely matches — not exact, but **close enough to help a human decide faster.**

I worked with our product team to create a basic prototype using:

• Face encoding via AWS Rekognition
• Tag-based search using attributes from prior incidents
• Confidence thresholds based on field validation

“This feels like Iron Man’s HUD for security. Can we roll this out to all entrances?” — Delta Facilities Director

Business Impact

What started as a one-off suggestion turned into a formal PoC. Delta piloted it at two gates with measurable results: a 60% reduction in guard check time and higher incident capture rates.

The client felt heard, and the field teams were finally empowered — not just monitored.

SE Takeaways

• Field visits matter. Some pain points never show up in Jira.
• Prototypes beat explanations. Even a basic UI gets buy-in faster than a spec sheet.
• SEs don’t just answer questions — they spot the unasked ones.

Got a camera feed and a security pain point? I’ve got some AI tricks up my sleeve.