We have talked a lot about automation and your pet business this past year with many of our members and even shared tools we use on our podcast and in an article right here on our website.

With the recent launch of ChatGPT and the insane AI, (artificial intelligence), technology the beta program has – it really got me thinking of ways you can incorporate some of that AI technology into your pet business if you are not already doing so.

What is ChatGPT? Created by OpenAI, ChatGPT which interacts with the user in a conversational way.  From their website: The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests. ChatGPT is a sibling model to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response.

I know many people say they are not ‘tech savvy’ or really don’t like technology, but then they also just ordered a pizza using an app on their phone for lunch or dinner.

Technology and automating our pet businesses, can alleviate so many ways that we have done things in the past manually.  I mean, I am typing this right now, but there are even ways to automate and make your content easier to produce with technology.  Not sure how I feel about content creation using AI, but chances are you have encountered it today and didn’t even know.

We featured APP Member Chinwe Onyeagoro of PocketSuite earlier this year, and she explained how their customers, specifically in the pet industry had adapted to their very easy to use technology to run their businesses, get paid and stay ahead of the competition. You can see that full interview here.

Blustream, has AI technology that is a game changer in my opinion of how pet parents can learn, how pet companies can communicate with their customers, make more sales and provide better customer service.  We interviewed APP Members, Tyler Craig and Emily Lagasse, who was a pet retail store and pet product manufacturer business owner for many years.  So her understanding of the industry and how Blustream’s technology can enhance the customer experience and save time for the pet business owner is quite clear.  You can watch that full interview here.

Pet Pocketbook is another APP member that has a automated user friendly pet technology that can help you manage your dog walking business.  Making automated billing, scheduling and staying organized in a single platform.

Something as simple as having your customer check out in your store, pay at your veterinary hospital can be utilized with a payment processor.  We all know that – but working with APP Members Steven Cron and Loren Shuman of Benchmark Payment Networks can help simplify your use of this technology, and could even save you moola.

And now with ChatGPT – you can literally ask it to give you content ideas specific to your pet business. You can ask it to write code for you website, among so many other ways you can try it out.  If you have not checked that out yet, you will likely go down a bit of a rabbit hole, but it’s not like a social app – easier to pop in and out.

I asked it a very question that can cause a very heated debate, even with a misspelling, the answer was quite accurate. Click here to see the video of that. 

I think if you’re going to use any technology – make sure that whatever you’re using reflects your brand, your voice, your mission, beliefs and values and make it work for your business the best it can.  And I don’t believe it is that hard to do anymore.

Having systems that are automated and running in the background is going to give you more time to focus on customer service, be creative, work with that dog that needs extra care, spend more time with your family, friends and pets because that technology is there working for you.

People are often scared of technology, especially something that is new.  Think about TikTok, just 2 years ago, no one wanted to be on it, it was going to be ‘shut down’ (pa-lease), and now everyone, brands and their grandmothers are on the app.

I know some people miss those days of not having phones, my Gen X generation didn’t have them survived and thrived.  But now I can’t imagine not being able to access the incredible technology to solve a problem, send or respond to a timely email while on the go, go live at an amazing pet industry event or just take more pictures of my dog.  Oh how I wish I had videos of my old Doberman from my phone, but the technology didn’t exist at the time.  If you’re someone that hates tech, or say you do – think about how many ways you have used technology today.  Perhaps you’re reading this on your phone right now.

Figuring out what technology to use for your business could take some trial and error, but I would say do your research.  Figure out what problem you need that technology to solve and go from there. For people worried about their customers not adapting to you now having technology for them to let’s say, make a grooming appointment or purchase a training class for their dog, they will learn how to use the technology and adapt.  Perhaps find it way easier to purchase something from you with the tap of their fingers!

I would love to know what your favorite technology is that you use to run your pet business.  Feel free to drop me a line and let me know, the more we share what we know and how we run our businesses the better it is for everyone imo.