Billed as Australia’s first-of-its-kind generative AI-powered pet care assistant, the PetAI chatbot will answer client questions about a range of pets including cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, chickens, small animals, and fish. Developed by giant pet-care retailer Petbarn in collaboration with Microsoft and Insight Enterprises, PetAI has built-in guardrails and refers more esoteric or difficult questions to a PetAI customer service line or suggests a consultation with a vet. A subsidiary of the Greencross Pet Wellness Company, along with Greencross Vets, Petbarn has more than 240 stores nationwide.
A question such as “how big should my alligator pond be” prompts the response: “It seems there isn’t specific information on the size of an alligator pond in the retrieved context”; and recommends a chat to PetAI’s Customer Service chatbot – which promptly asks for a name and an email address.
More routine questions like “Why won’t my cat stop scratching her head” receive fuller answers, such as “It sounds like your cat might be experiencing discomfort, possibly due to an ear infection, which can cause symptoms like constant scratching and shaking of the head”.
Launched in October 2024, PetAI is a finalist in the Customer Experience category of the Australian Financial Review’s AI Awards. Thousands of users now interact with PetAI every week via the Petbarn website or the Petbarn mobile app.
Insight Enterprises APAC chief technical officer Veli-Matti Vanamo oversaw the development of PetAI, beginning with the strategy, directions, and technical options and then remaining on board as it was developed and tested. PetAI is free for anyone to use, and pet-owners who sign up can create a pet profile with age, sex, breed and so on, to receive advice, he says. PetAI will answer straightforward pet-care questions and recommend Petbarn products if warranted.
“The Petbarn app is available at both iOS and Android app stores, and you can interact with PetAI regardless of whether you’ve ever purchased from Petbarn,” he says, adding that he understands that customers who use PetAI are twice as likely to buy pet-care products from Petbarn compared with customers who simply visit the Petbarn website.
“PetAI lives within the Petbarn ecosystem,” Vanamo says. “It has really three capabilities: it provides advice if you have any questions about any pets, no matter if they’re product-related or not. It provides links to services; veterinarian and other services, and it will search the live database of Petbarn’s product catalogue, and define and recommend suitable products based on how you have interacted with it and what you’ve told Petbarn about your pets.”
PetAI was developed after the umbrella Greencross Pet Wellness Company found that pet-owners had been trying to navigate across a range of information sources, including vet clinics, online forums and retail stores, to find answers to common questions.
The operation limits liability by referring more difficult pet questions onwards to experts when necessary, Vanamo says. “It tries to understand when a condition or a topic that you bring up is now crossing to the boundary of advice that is better given by a professional,” he says.
“They are constantly monitoring and adjusting where that line exists, not only from liability reasons, but just for good practice,” Vanamo says. “They do not want to cross the boundary into advice that could harm or negatively impact your pet or whatever animal you may have. There are strict guard rails to govern that.”
For instance, if PetAI is asked about a dog’s odd behaviour, which could be a serious health problem, “My dog is walking into walls, what should I do?”, the answer comes quickly: “If your dog is walking into walls, it may indicate a health issue, such as vision problems or disorientation. It’s best to consult a veterinarian for a proper assessment.”
Petbarn began the journey to build a gen AI-powered pet care assistant very early, Vanamo says, beginning in the months after OpenAI first launched ChatGPT in November 2022. “They were true pioneers in this area,” he adds. “When they were doing the scoping, getting the business case, and starting to do the proof of concepts, at that time there were none in the marketplace.”