Conservation of marine ecosystems has been highlighted as a priority to ensure a sustainable future. Effective management requires data collection over large spatio-temporal scales, readily accessible and integrated information from monitoring, and tools to support decision-making. However, there are many roadblocks to achieving adequate and timely information on both the
effectiveness, and long-term success of conservation efforts, including limited funding, inadequate sampling, and data processing bottlenecks. An automated approach facilitated by artificial intelligence (AI) provides conservation managers with a toolkit that can help alleviate a number of these issues by reducing the monitoring bottlenecks and long-term costs of monitoring. Automating the collection, transfer, and processing of data provides managers access to greater information, thereby facilitating timely and effective management. Incorporating automation and big data availability into a decision support system with a user-friendly interface also enables effective adaptive management. Here, I will specifically discuss a topical method of processing video data, and how it can be applied more widely for the average ecologist. I will also transparently discuss costs, equipment, timelines and open source options for those considering implementing AI in data processing.