One of the Best Uses of AI I’ve Seen

Ten years ago, the Humane Society Silicon Valley took in a 13-pound Chihuahua with terrible social skills and a Napoleon complex the size of a Mastiff.

Bad with kids. Easily triggered. Bite-first-ask-questions-later energy.

A total jerk, really. So… unadoptable?

Ab-so-lute-NO. For the right family, the Shelter decided, Eddie’s challenges will be his strengths. (Ah… universal truth time: Isn’t that true for us all?)

The Humane Society Silicon Valley named him Eddie the Terrible. And staffer Finnegan Dowling wrote him this subversive job description.

I mean… pet listing. Finnegan wrote this pet listing.

3 Reasons You DON’T Want to Adopt Eddie the Terrible.

Like to go for walks in dog-infested areas? Enjoy the dog park? Keep walking….

While Eddie the Terrible has *never actually attacked another dog*, he’s made it abundantly clear that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility. He goes from zero to Cujo in .05 seconds when he sees another dog on leash.

Well, sayeth you, lots of small dogs bark at other dogs on leash. True. But we know people expect a lot from dogs in this day and age and when it comes to leash theatrics, Eddie’s at the top of his game.

And:

We are attempting to adopt out what might actually be the worst dog ever. But at least we’re being honest about it.

That’s only an excerpt. The full version is glorious in its detail. (Also: Dog-infested. I. M. Dead.)

* * *

The writing and… well, “product” positioning made Eddie go viral back in 2014.

I interviewed Finnegan about him then. For a few years around that time, I talked about Eddie and the shelter in my presentations. The approach to content… the copy… all of it: Tail-wagging GREAT!

The viral thing boosted visibility for Eddie specifically and the shelter more generally. (Later, the shelter and its director, Carol Novello, went on to write a book and to found a nonprofit, Mutual Rescue, with a mission to shift the conversation around shelter animals.)

As for Eddie the Terrible himself… He was adopted within weeks to a “reasonably antisocial” retired couple. No kids. (Of course.)

I don’t know if Eddie is still around. (I just did a quick search among the online obits. No Eddie.)

But I like to imagine he is still with us. Still avoiding dog-infested parks.

Still lunging at the dog next door for absolutely no reason at all.

And still spending his days lounging on the warm lap of his anti-social, kid-free dad… a slight smile playing on his lips.

* * *

So why are we talking about Eddie now? And what about the promise in that AI subject line, eh?

Okay, okay… Here’s why:

I thought about Eddie and Finnegan again when I saw Rescue Writer, a free generative AI tool created to help pet shelters like the Silicon Valley shelter. The idea is to help shelters craft compelling backstories and descriptions for the adoptable pets.

Rescue Writer’s checkbox interface makes a multiple-choice game out of prompting a pet profile.

You’re invited to choose various traits (curious? goofy? brave?) of a specific pet (dog? cat? turtle? fish?).

You might add your own attributes.

You choose a tone of voice (heroic? heartfelt? magical?).

You choose point of view. You can edit what it spits out.

Here’s a test listing I just created for my dog, Augie.*

*(His lawyers got wind of this and now require that I include a disclosure here. Witnesseth as I raise my right hand and pledge to you publicly: “I, Ann Handley, hereby solemnly swear that August Handley is NOT—repeat, NOT—available for adoption. Not now. Not ever. So help me Dog.“)

Is it perfect?

No.

But it’s B+ for capturing a boy with a love of learning and truly excellent hair.

* * *

What problem does this solve?

A pet’s story can inspire a person to adopt.

Yet a major challenge for pet shelters is that volunteers or staffers have neither adequate time nor sufficient resources to craft Finnegan-level copy for their residents.

Most shelters have no content marketing experience.

Most do not have a budget for writers.

Many are staffed at least in part by volunteers who have approximately 87 thousand other demands on their time.

So what happens? The writeups often lack personality. Or they’re left blank, says PetSmart Charities, which created the free tool in partnership with creative agency Deutsch LA.

Rescue Writer has helped to create more than 7,000 pet bios so far.

(If you want to get into the AI-weeds… this Ad Age piece says Rescue Writer is built using OpenAI API, NextJS framework, Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform… and powered by Red Bull, catnip, and the frenzied, focused energy of a Jack Russell terrier.)

(Just kidding. It’s only the first 3 things.)

Reason #1 why I like this tool.

We often talk about generative AI as a tool that helps speed up content programs. Yet speed on its own is useless.

Instead, I think the best generative AI tools are sharp, strategic Ginsu knives that make us sharper, more precise, more strategic overall…

But ONLY IF WE USE THEM TO SOLVE ACTUAL PROBLEMS.

And ONLY IF THE PROBLEMS DEEPEN CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS.

I’m shouty-capping that ^^ because it’s critical for AI. But it applies to any new tech—from ABM to DAM to LMNOP.

I’m not suggesting that AI copywriting become the default. I care too much about great writing and writers to say that.

But I am suggesting that AI can be a strategic asset in some situations if we use it to help us show up as more human… not less.

I know that sounds very caveat-within-a-caveat. And maybe it is.

But it makes sense for a resource-strapped nonprofit to use it as a copy intern. It makes less sense for others to use it in exactly the same way.

AI is neither good nor bad. It just IS.

Life is nuanced. People are nuanced. We can hold two opposing views at once, can’t we now?

* * *

This isn’t just about AI. We need to view any new technology that comes wandering off the street into our offices through the lens of the 3-question…

NEW TECH SNIFF TEST
Does the new tool…

1. Solve a problem?
2. Boost the effectiveness of our programs in measurable, specific ways?
3. Trigger deeper, sustainable connections?

Thinking about new technology in this way helps you avoid tech-for-tech’s-sake shiny-object syndrome. (TTSSOS? Still workshopping this acronym.)

And it helps you focus on what actually matters in marketing.

[BTW: Katie Robbert at TrustInsights has a more detailed framework around AI adoption.]

Reason #2 why I like this tool.

I remembered how Finnegan told me 10 years ago that a common reason people won’t come to shelters is because they believe it would be depressing—an expectation created by so-called Sarah McLachlan-ads: those notoriously gut-wrenching shelter ads, shot through rusty chain-link fencing, with solemn soundtracks heavy on the strings and images of sad-eyed animals.

Finnegan and the Silicon Valley shelter sought to shift that narrative.

“We knocked it out of the park with a shelter animal story that had nothing to do with trauma, sadness, abuse, negligence…” she said at the time.

* * *

I like the way Rescue Writer focuses on the joy and character that pets add to our lives.

I like how Rescue Writer focuses on the specific, quantifiable ways pets help us be more human.

The same can be true of technology. At least… if we’re smart about it.