Amazon’s AI tool pairs shelter dogs and cats with potential adopters as part of the Protect Playtime campaign.

      In summary, Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab, along with PetIQ’s PetArmor brand and Best Friends Animal Society, has initiated the “Protect Playtime” campaign. This initiative merges an AI-driven pet-matching tool available on Amazon with videos generated by Amazon Nova Reel featuring individual shelter animals, aiming to promote adoptions. The tool utilizes natural language processing to match potential adopters with shelter pets that suit their preferences. A pilot event held in Glen Rose, Texas, in February 2026 resulted in 24 adoptions in just one day, a record quadrupling the previous one. Customized video content for each animal will be showcased across Prime Video and Amazon Streaming TV ads until July 31, 2026.

      Best Friends Animal Society estimates that in the U.S., a dog or cat dies in a shelter every 90 seconds, leading to about 400,000 animals being killed in 2025, despite almost two-thirds of U.S. shelters achieving no-kill status. The disparity between the goal of a national no-kill standard and the actual situation is evident in the one-third of shelters that lack the resources, visibility, or adoption rates to expedite animal placements. The Protect Playtime campaign, announced on April 9, 2026, represents an effort by PetArmor, Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, and Best Friends to bridge this gap through AI-assisted matching, customized video, and direct shelter infrastructure investment. The campaign's name reflects PetArmor’s main product, which focuses on flea, tick, and parasite prevention, emphasizing that pet protection starts with adoption. Best Friends collaborates with over 6,000 shelters and rescue organizations across the U.S., providing the necessary data infrastructure and networks for the matching tool. Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends, expressed their aim for a future where all pets have safe homes, adding that this innovative campaign will significantly enhance the connections between adoptable pets and potential owners.

      The AI pet-matching tool is available at amazon.com/ProtectPlaytime and processes natural language queries from interested adopters regarding factors like size, temperament, energy level, compatibility with children and other pets, and living circumstances, to identify suitable shelter animals from Best Friends’ partner networks. The interface is crafted to ease the research process often deterring adoptions; prospective adopters, who find it challenging to navigate individual shelter databases or assess the information through static photographs, may abandon their search prematurely. Utilizing Best Friends’ network of over 6,000 organizations, the tool compiles inventory that would usually require multiple searches. Additionally, the campaign team has invested in improving shelter environments by establishing physical “Protect Playtime” areas in participating facilities, allowing animals to showcase their personalities and mitigating the stress-related behaviors that usually make them appear less adoptable. A Valentine’s Day pilot event at Glen Rose Animal Control in Texas in February 2026 combined improved shelter environments, AI-assisted matching, and localized promotion, achieving 24 adoptions in a single day—four times the facility's previous record. Kyle Lembke, PetIQ’s senior vice president, framed the campaign as a natural progression of the brand’s 15-year mission, emphasizing their commitment to facilitating loving homes for pets by utilizing animated AI videos and fostering environments where animals can exhibit their true personalities.

      For each participating animal, Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab generated an animated video through Amazon Nova Reel, the company’s AI video creation tool integrated with Amazon Bedrock. These videos are produced from text prompts and images of individual shelter pets, depicting each animal in a simulated home setting to assist potential adopters in visualizing them in a domestic atmosphere rather than a kennel. Nova Reel can create multi-shot video sequences up to two minutes long, using text prompts and optional reference images to generate footage deemed suitable for commercial use by Amazon. The Protect Playtime videos will be featured in Prime Video and Amazon Streaming TV advertisements until July 31, 2026, and will be included in PetArmor’s Amazon Brand Store as well. This method of producing distinct generative videos for each adoptable animal is not feasible with traditional video production; Nova Reel allows for scalable personalization across the entire inventory of Best Friends’ partner shelters. Furthermore, Nova Reel has gained attention beyond the Protect Playtime initiative due to a lawsuit accusing Amazon of training Nova Reel on content taken from YouTube without permission or compensation, filed by prominent creators including H3H3 Productions. Amazon has not publicly commented on this lawsuit. Lauren Anderson, head of Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, explained that the campaign was developed around the central question of how to help more shelter pets find happy homes, guiding every decision, including the AI matching tool, generative videos, and shelter spaces. She characterized it as a comprehensive campaign aimed at a noble cause.

      The Protect Playtime campaign exemplifies the objectives Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab has been working towards: creating an advertising framework that transitions from awareness to conversion within Amazon’s ecosystem, leveraging AI for personalized content at a scale unmatched by conventional