PetArmor and Amazon Ads debut AI-powered tool to match dogs and cats with potential adopters

Amazon has launched its first-ever pet adoption experience, an AI-powered matching tool that helps people discover adoptable dogs and cats based on their lifestyle and preferences. The innovation was developed in collaboration with PetArmor, a leading brand of quality pet products, and Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill.*

When users submit prompts describing their ideal pet, the AI analyzes factors including temperament, energy level, living situation compatibility, and household composition

The tool processes natural language queries like "I need a low-energy dog good for apartments" and returns personalized pet recommendations from Best Friends centers nationwide.

The "Protect Playtime" campaign, developed by PetArmor in collaboration with Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, addresses a critical challenge: According to Best Friends’ data, every 90 seconds a dog or cat is killed in a U.S. shelter simply because they don’t have a safe place to call home. However, data from Best Friends also shows that there are more than enough homes for America’s pets. Approximately seven million households will add a pet to their family over the next year, and if just six percent more of them choose to adopt from a shelter the country could reach no-kill, which means saving every healthy and treatable pet. The campaign closes this gap through five integrated elements: AI-powered discovery, generative video for adoptable dogs and cats, building animal shelter infrastructure, passive charitable giving through streaming content, and shoppable pet products.

"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?'" says Lauren Anderson, U.S. Head of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab. "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."

How the AI matching works

The adoption hub uses natural language processing to interpret text-based 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. When users submit prompts describing their ideal pet, the AI analyzes factors including temperament, energy level, living situation compatibility, and household composition. The tool then returns matches with complete profiles from Best Friends, including photos and direct navigation to the organization’s website to complete adoption applications.

AI videos visualize loving homes

For featured pets seeking their loving homes, Amazon Ads created personalized, animated videos showing how they might thrive in home environments. Based on the pet profiles provided by Best Friends, the AI-generated content transforms static pet profiles into emotional narratives that help potential adopters visualize life with their future pet—an important factor for dogs and cats that struggle with traditional photo-based listings.

Animated video for featured cat Wanda based on her shelter profile

Physical infrastructure investment

Early results demonstrate the campaign's potential: In February, PetArmor and Amazon constructed a custom dog park and “catio” at Glen Rose Animal Control in Texas, transforming one of Best Friends’ 6,000 shelter and rescue group partners into a playful environment that allowed personalities to shine. The following day, on Valentine’s Day, the shelter hosted an adoption event that resulted in two dozen cats and dogs finding loving homes—more than quadrupling the shelter's previous single-day adoption record. By facilitating more organic connections between pets and prospective new families, the event supported Glen Rose in their efforts to achieve no-kill.

Video documentation of the transformation runs from April 6–July 31 across Amazon properties including Prime Video, streaming TV ads, and PetArmor's custom Amazon Brand Store. These updates to the shelter directly improve adoption outcomes by providing spaces where adoptable pets can truly showcase their temperaments and personalities. What’s more, most of the materials used to build the park—from turf and agility courses to solar-powered lighting—are available to purchase on Amazon, proving these types of spaces don’t have to be difficult to create.

"Best Friends is working toward a day where no dog or cat has to die in a shelter simply because they don't have a safe place to call home," says Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. "This innovative campaign will make a meaningful impact on the lives of dogs and cats around the country by giving people new ways to connect with adoptable pets, and we're honored to work alongside PetArmor and Amazon to bring it to life."

"Stream It Forward” on Fire TV helps people join the movement by enjoying their favorite pet content

Additional campaign elements include "Stream It Forward" on Fire TV, where Amazon will make a donation to Best Friends for each hour of curated, animal-centered entertainment watched. Featuring classic cartoons such as Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry alongside modern favorites Ratatouille and Lilo & Stitch, featured titles will be highlighted with a sponsored banner, making it easy for viewers to contribute while enjoying their favorite, pet-themed, family-friendly titles. Also available is a shoppable hub featuring an interactive questionnaire that recommends personalized product bundles for creating safe play spaces at home.

"For 15 years, PetArmor has protected pets from outdoor threats," said Kyle Lembke, Sr. Brand Director from PetIQ. “Now we're protecting their chance at finding a loving home. By giving the adoptable dogs and cats AI-powered animated videos that visualize their future and building shelter spaces where they can show their personalities, we're removing the barriers between pets in shelters and the families who will love them."

The AI adoption matching hub launches today at amazon.com/protectplaytime.

Sources

*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.