Amazon’s AI-Powered Tool Matches Dogs and Cats with Potential Adopters

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 9, 2026--

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*. 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.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260409544493/en/

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 aims to close 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.

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 its efforts to achieve no-kill.

Video documentation of the transformation runs until 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."

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 can be accessed at amazon.com/ProtectPlaytime

*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.

About Pet Armor®

For more than 15 years, PetArmor® has helped families protect the pets they love with trusted, clinically proven flea and tick solutions formulated with veterinarian‑recommended active ingredients. Trusted by millions of pet parents, PetArmor offers a full portfolio of over-the-counter and accessible flea, tick, & pet health products.

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 6,000 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.

About Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab

Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab is a global team of strategists, creatives, solutions managers, and technologists who show brands what's possible when they think big. The team transforms bold ideas into custom experiences delivered across Amazon's entire canvas - including Prime Video, Amazon Music, Twitch, Alexa, Fire TV, the Amazon store, and beyond. These full-funnel campaigns are inspired by trillions of streaming, shopping, and browsing signals, and feature creative ideas and ad innovations that delight customers and differentiate brands in today's crowded media landscape. The team works with brands across all categories, whether they sell on Amazon or not, creating one-of-a-kind advertising experiences by leveraging Amazon's unique touchpoints.

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

Amazon’s AI-Powered Tool Matches Dogs and Cats with Potential Adopters

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A crack in a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has eliminated the risk of a catastrophic explosion but it's still not safe enough for the remaining 16,000 residents living closest to the aerospace plant to go home, officials said Tuesday.

Crews were spraying water to keep cooling the tank that overheated last week, prompting the evacuation of 50,000 people in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. Most returned home after a crack formed over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, relieving pressure inside.

The evacuation zone remained the same on Tuesday morning, said Orange County Fire Capt. Brian Yau.

Crews worked overnight to ensure two other nearby tanks were neutralized and would not be affected by the compromised tank, he said, adding that material from one of these two tanks was transferred to another that has a neutralizing agent.

“They are moving material over to ensure that all threats have been eliminated,” Yau said.

Those threats include the risk of a very small explosion and potential spill, officials said.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate — a highly flammable chemical used to make plastics — can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The tank at the GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems plant contains 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of the chemical.

The interior cooled to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C), the county's fire division chief Craig Covey said Monday, down from 100 degrees (37.7 degrees C) a day earlier. The company said its technical specialists and the county fire authority have removed insulation from the tank to help cool it.

Health officials sought to reassure people who are returning to homes near the plant.

“There was no contamination. There were no fumes,” Orange County Health Director Regina Chinsio-Kwong said at Monday's news conference. “There was not a leak. So it should be, you should feel comfortable going home even if you’re across the street from that new zone line.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District will monitor the air for several months and the EPA will be checking sewer and storm drains for spills, Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said.

Garden Grove Unified School District said last week it was shutting a dozen schools through what was supposed to be the last day of the school year on Wednesday but later said only three would remain closed Tuesday. It was unclear if they would reopen before the school year ends this week.

At a parking lot at a large park in Fountain Valley, just southwest of Garden Grove, people sought refuge in an ad hoc shelter there or pitched tents outside. Other people gathered in the park to enjoy Memorial Day.

Kim Yen, a retiree who was still evacuated from her home two blocks from the plant, welcomed news that the worst was not expected.

“I am happy and many of us are happy,” she said Monday.

She said she's ready to go back but wants to be sure it’s safe first. She's also been worrying about the emergency workers, who she called “our heroes.”

As the tank heated up, the chemical converted from liquid to gas, ramping up the pressure and explosion risk, said Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University engineering professor who has studied environmental contamination. Some of the methyl methacrylate may already have hardened into a stable plastic similar to plexiglass, reducing the danger, he said.

The tank could eventually cool enough for crews to safely stabilize and drain the remaining material without triggering a spark or ignition, Whelton said.

However, he said there is still a risk of an explosion while the chemical remains hot and reactive. Temperatures need to fall closer to 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 to 21.1 degrees C) before conditions are considered significantly safer, he said.

GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems makes cockpit windows, canopies and windshields for military and commercial aircraft. It employs about 16,000 people across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries, according to the company website.

“We apologize for the ongoing disruption this incident is causing and our priority remains its safe resolution, so that residents can return to their homes as quickly as possible,” the company said.

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

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This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to TJ McGovern, interim fire chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, not to division chief Craig Covey.

Willingham reported from Boston. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.

Two evacuees sit in their pickup truck at a gas station within the evacuation zone in Stanton, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

An aerial view shows a police checkpoint enforcing a road closure at the evacuation zone boundary in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan De Jonge and fiancé Sher Stuckman set up a tent with their belonging and pet outside the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People walk outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

An American Red Cross volunteer walks outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif.,on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)