Amazon’s AI Tool Revolutionizes Pet Adoption with Protect Playtime Campaign
Amazon, PetIQ’s PetArmor brand, and Best Friends Animal Society have launched "Protect Playtime," a groundbreaking initiative combining an AI-powered pet-matching tool on Amazon with Amazon Nova Reel-generated videos to promote adoptions.
The Campaign’s Impact
- Key Statistic: Every 90 seconds, a dog or cat dies in a US shelter, totaling approximately 400,000 animals in 2025.
- Goal: Close the gap between national no-kill aspiration and reality by enhancing adoption throughput.
AI Pet Matching Tool
The tool, accessible at amazon.com/ProtectPlaytime, utilizes natural language processing to match adopters with suitable shelter pets based on:
- Size
- Temperament
- Energy level
- Compatibility with children or other animals
- Living situation
This personalized approach addresses common adoption barriers caused by cumbersome search processes and limited information, often leading prospective owners to abandon the process.
Pilot Results
A pilot event in Glen Rose, Texas, demonstrated the tool’s effectiveness, achieving 24 adoptions in a single day, four times the previous record.
Generative Video Content
Personalized video content for each shelter animal is distributed across Prime Video and Amazon Streaming TV ads until July 31, 2026. This unique approach aims to capture adopters’ attention and foster emotional connections with potential pets.
Direct Shelter Infrastructure Investment
Best Friends, with its extensive network of over 6,000 shelters and rescue organizations, provides the data infrastructure and reach for the matching tool’s success.
Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends, expressed optimism:
"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. 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 honoured to work alongside PetArmor and Amazon to bring it to life."
The Protect Playtime campaign represents a significant step forward in pet adoption, leveraging technology to foster stronger connections between shelter animals and their future families.