Amazon has launched its first pet adoption experience with the debut of an AI-powered matching tool, designed to help people discover adoptable dogs and cats based on their lifestyle and preferences. Developed in collaboration with PetArmor pet products and Best Friends Animal Society, the tool processes natural language queries such as “I need a low-energy dog good for apartments,” returning personalized pet recommendations from Best Friends centers nationwide.
The AI adoption matching hub interprets these queries before searching Best Friends’ database of adoptable pets at its centers in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Northwest Arkansas, Salt Lake City and the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, using predefined filters. The AI analyzes factors including temperament, energy level, living situation compatibility and household composition, then returns matches with complete profiles from Best Friends that include photos and direct navigation to the organization’s website, where users can complete adoption details.
Additionally, for featured pets seeking adopters, Amazon Ads can create personalized, animated videos showing how they might thrive in home environments. The AI-generated content, based on the Best Friends pet profiles, turns static profiles into emotional narratives designed to help potential adopters visualize life with a future pet.
The campaign also includes physical infrastructure investments designed to facilitate adoptions. In February, PetArmor and Amazon constructed a custom dog park and “catio” at Glen Rose Animal Control in Texas, transforming the facility of one of Best Friends’ shelter and rescue group partners into a playful environment that allowed the pets’ personalities to shine. A Valentine’s Day adoption event resulted in two dozen cats and dogs finding homes, more than quadrupling the shelter’s single-day adoption record.
Moving Closer to a No-Kill Goal
The entire campaign, called “Protect Playtime,” was developed by PetArmor in collaboration with Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab to address a critical challenge: According to Best Friends’ data, every 90 seconds a dog or cat is killed in a U.S. shelter because they don’t have a safe place to call home. But the problem isn’t insoluble: approximately 7 million households will add a pet over the next year, and if just 6% more would adopt from a shelter, the country could reach the no-kill goal of saving every healthy and treatable pet.
“The best part of working on this was aligning everything around one question: ‘How do we help more of our country’s adoptable pets in shelters find the healthy, happy homes they deserve?’” said Lauren Anderson, U.S. Head of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab in a statement. “That North Star drove every decision — the AI matching tool, the generative videos, the shelter spaces. It’s a true full-funnel campaign on a worthy mission.”
Additional campaign elements include “Stream it Forward” on Fire TV, with Amazon making a donation to Best Friends for each hour of curated, animal-centered entertainment watched. With classic cartoons like Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry and more modern favorites such as Ratatouille and Lilo & Stitch, the featured titles will be highlighted with a sponsored banner, making it easy for viewers to contribute while watching pet-themed, family-friendly titles. Additionally, a shoppable hub featuring an interactive questionnaire can recommend personalized product bundles for creating safe play spaces at home.
