Petbarn uses AI tool to answer questions, recommend products

Pet care retailer Petbarn is offering a generative AI tool to "pet parents" that can dispense "vet-approved advice" when its stores and vet clinics are closed.

The tool was soft launched in November and has so far responded to "over 6000" customer questions, senior retail marketing manager Rachel Beeton told Digital Nation.

“Six thousand (6000) queries to start is pretty significant," she said.

"We're pleased with that result. There are over 2000 product recommendations so far that Pet AI has delivered and over 2000 answers to health-related queries.

“That gives you a sense of the data or the numbers that we're seeing, the volume that we're seeing so far.”

The generative AI-powered solution allows pet owners to access vet-approved advice from the Greencross and Petbarn websites.

It was built in partnership with Microsoft and Insight Enterprises

Beeton said the group wanted to achieve "increased trust of Petbarn and Greencross vets”, leading to "higher [customer] retention rates and therefore better revenue”.

Beeton said the plan is to “evolve the tool” with enhancements including further personalisation early next year.

“Over time, it will become more and more personalised and that's when we'll see much more of an upside in retention and trustworthiness,” Beeton said.

Beeton said the organisation publishes between 10 and 15 vet-backed articles a month - source information the AI tool calls upon.

Through PetAI, the marketing team can “essentially get targeted reach” for that content.

Beeton noted that "amplification" costs to put content in front of consumers could otherwise be expensive.

Rather than do that for every knowledge article, the company is seeking to amplify the availability of the AI tool, "as opposed to the individual articles."

The AI tool is designed to only tap into these official articles and not "bring in any sources from the wider internet”.

Where a question is deemed to highlight a health risk to the pet, urgent advice can be provided.

“What PetAI also does is, if you ask a health-related question, like I think my dog has a tick, it will recognise that there's a potential threat there and tell you to seek vet advice very quickly”.