Companion Pet Service Taps AI to Gain Market Share Over Chewy, Petco

More often than not, pet parents are willing to take extensive measures to guarantee their pets are given optimal care and attention, which entails providing them with the necessary essentials to flourish. This is shared sentiment among big pet players like Chewy, Petco, Mars, and now startup Companion, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered interactive device for dogs.

Chewy’s CEO, Sumit Singh, revealed to investors in March that the pet industry in the United States is worth $130 billion and is growing steadily, even during economic downturns. Chewy has reported a surge in its auto-shipment service for pet essentials, and Petco has noted the same trend. Petco has observed that consumables have been more resilient than discretionary spending, which has led to a new partnership with the Freshpet natural pet food brand to launch a personalized meal subscription plan.

See also: Mars, Chewy and Petco Double-Down on Pet Essentials

As pet owners prioritize their pets’ health needs, Companion is striving to do the same but with a slightly different strategy. Chewy and Petco prioritize the human experience with auto-ship services and accessible price points. In contrast, Companion is prioritizing its primary customer, the dog, by focusing on companionship and stimulation. In a recent interview with John Honchariw, founder and CEO of Companion, PYMNTS discussed how the company is leveraging AI to create dog-friendly experiences that prioritize health and happiness.

“Our approach involves meeting dogs where they are, without requiring them to push buttons or perform any complex actions. Dogs already communicate a great deal through body language such as tail movement, seeking out safe spaces, or making eye contact in a particular way. We invite dogs to communicate in these ways and then respond in a language they can comprehend,” Honchariw said.

The company has collaborated with animals of all kinds, including dogs with sensory disabilities, to gain a deeper understanding of how to meet the needs of dogs of diverse types.

Companion Technology

Companion’s system, which includes the device, the app, the cloud, and the animal behavior team, provides an experience that benefits both the human and the animal.

Honchariw explains that Companion uses straightforward machine learning techniques to bring its device to life. The device leverages computer vision, which allows it to track movements and postures of the animal while it engages with the device. Through this technique the animal is able to grasp that it has complete control of the entire experience.

The monitoring allows both the animal behavior team and the pet owner to better understand where the animal is comfortable and where it’s learning. Companion leverages basic engagement, games, and training modules to help the animal gain competency and drive while building specific skills such as listening or learning a specific behavior like “sit.”

With that, Companion is able to provide pet parents with a full download of insights into their dog’s progress, thought process, and learning style.

“So, in a very long-winded way of saying, we use basic AI to drive the experience like autonomous cars do to recognize things and react really quickly,” Honchariw said.

And in terms of privacy concerns over data collection, Honchariw that the customer owns their data and can opt to share the data they choose to share. “Your data belongs to you.”

Updating Devices

“The idea behind our product is to make it incredibly simple for our users to live and work with their furry companions,” Honchariw said.

Companion charges a monthly fee starting at $49 and covers all aspects of servicing the device, including updates and newer software. The ultimate aim is to encourage complete integration of the Companion solution into the routines of both the pet owner and their pets.

For the advanced features such as noise sensitization, health analytics, and programs like doggy yoga and pain management post-surgery, Companion charges an extra fee, but Honchariw noted that the company aims to keep their product affordable for everyone.

Treats With Limits

According to Honchariw, as the time spent with the pet increases, Companion’s understanding of the pet improves. This includes comprehending their motivations, what brings them happiness, and so on. However, for some, or even many pets, their joy is predominantly centered around food.

Nevertheless, in order to allay any concerns about pets attempting to outsmart the device, Companion has already implemented measures to prevent them from abusing the treat dispensing system.

Honchariw underscores the importance of preventing pets from misusing Companion’s reward system, and to achieve this, the company works with animal health advisers to tailor the device to the pet’s lifestyle and needs.

“From the very beginning, we set limits within the devices to ensure that they only provide 20 to 30% of a dog’s daily caloric intake and stop early on. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that not only is the experience fun for the animal, but also healthy,” Honchariw said.

But the company also has another way of preventing treat abuse. Companion allows pet parents to use its calorie intake monitoring feature and track their dog’s body condition score over time. With this data, the device can automatically make adjustments to help the dog reach its ideal weight each week, without the need for intervention from the pet parent.

Dogs With Disabilities

During its testing phase, Companion developers made an interesting discovery: They could start to detect animal changes, such as in eyesight or hearing. Honchariw credits Companion’s infinite time and almost-sentience, which allows the device to observe when and if an animal takes longer to hear treats over a period of a few months or sit as it waits for a command.

The gradual increase in response time can be an indication that the animal is experiencing hearing loss or other changes that can be identified and communicated to the pet parent with the assistance of Companion. Without Companion, the pet parent may not notice the slow progression of their animal’s hearing loss. Honchariw said this feature is not yet accessible but will be available to all models upon release.

Future Shopping Experience

As retail experiences continue to gain importance, Honchariw is using Companion to make those experiences easier to be had for pet parents.

“Imagine bringing your family, including your furry companion, to the mall and stopping by our store. You can’t take your dog into most department stores, but with our experience booth, you can drop off your dog and come back two or three hours later to find that they have already learned some new behaviors.”