:

Service + Product

Enhancing Pet Wellbeing Through Generative AI Intervention

Facilitating informed and confident decision-making in critical health care moments .

Honor & Recognitions

Read the article that is published on Institute of Design’s website.

ASSIST pet caregivers
WHO need support managing their pets' well-being
TO handle emergencies, chronic conditions, and emotional challenges.

“...What I loved this project is that we are able to humanize AI technology for individuals.”

The Mission

Integrate Generative AI features into a cohesive, user-friendly multimodal product ecosystem.
Alleviate financial burdens and empower pet owners with personalized, timely support and knowledge, boosting their confidence to make well-informed decisions for their beloved pets' health.

Problem Space

High Quality vs Budget-Friendly Dilemma:
Balancing financial considerations with pets' well-being often leads to stress.

Research indicates that when the cost of saving an animal exceeds $5,000, the majority of pet owners opt to discontinue treatment. This emotional dilemma—how much can I afford to allocate to care for my ailing pet?—is a common challenge faced by many pet owners as they consider the financial responsibilities of pet ownership

66%

Percent of US Households Have Pets

3%

of These Households Have Pet Insurance

$5k

Amount at Which Most Pet Owners Decide to Stop Treatment

user barriers

Pets lack the ability to speak verbally, so pet owners face challenges of understanding their needs and conditions.

Decisions based on interpreting behavioral cues, subtle changes in habits, or physical signs can be complex. Misinterpretation might lead to wrong decisions. The situation can exacerbate when you're unable to accompany your pet regularly and resort to sending them to daycare. Similarly, for pet owners managing a pet shelter, challenges arise when they struggle to monitor each individual pet effectively.

❓🔍

How might we leverage Gen AI capabilities to create a real time support system for pet care-givers that make informed, confident decisions assuring pet's well-being?

The solutions

Pawssistant: Using Conversational AI to Streamline Decision-Making

Our goal is to leverage conversational AI to reduce the complexity and burden of decision-making by streamlining the process beyond traditional search results. By collaborating with AI to support human decisions, we can provide both functional and emotional benefits to users.

key strategy

Navigating Complexity with Confidence Multimodel Experience

Our pet healthcare platform offers a smooth, user-friendly experience across multiple devices. It features a virtual AI assistant that provides personalized support in various modes, ensuring quick and reliable guidance for challenging pet health situations. This helps owners better protect the well-being of their beloved animal companions.

Use Case Features

#1 Emergency Care :
When facing pet accident and needed emergency response, we delivered

🕒 Manage emergency in the moment 🎯Empowering users to make confident decisions with data-driven recommendations

“Should I go to the vet or keep monitoring?
I want to weight my decisions by cost and well-being quickly & accurately”
Passistant will examine the data to identify patterns, then offer targeted, data-driven advice based on successful outcomes in similar pet incidents.

#2 In the Moment Care :
When having pet with critical changes, we delivered

⌚ Consistent health tracking 💡Streamlined care guidance via voice assistant

: “I don’t know how to do to save her right now! I cannot reach out the vet!”
We connect you with a vet for complete peace of mind and staying with you through post-check-in follow-ups, with a voice assistant to guide you every step of the way.

#2-1 Chronic Care :
When having pet with chronic disease, we delivered

⚡Emergent symptoms management dashboard⌚ Consistent health tracking

: “I'm worried about missing crucial changes and unsure how to care for my pets with chronic diseases.”
We collect data, analyze it into simple visualizations, and enable you to uncover insights for change whenever you need.

#3 Proactive Care :
When making life-long decisions for pet, we delivered

📈 Overview of long-term pet well-being 📝 Assess consequences, costs, and compare actions for informed, personalised decisions

“I want to explore ways to ensure my pet's long-term health and making the best choice by considering consequences on a larger scale”
Proactive care plans will help you simulate and visualize projected spending, enabling well-informed decisions.

#4 CommuniCare :
When needing emotional support from the community, we delivered

🏘️ Connect with a supportive community 👫 Access to helpful advice from individuals facing similar situations

“This is really stressful, I want to have some talks and know how other people do it”
We will help you find and connect with local caregivers dealing with similar pet health issues, offering support and a space to share experiences.

#5 Trust Architecture :
When needing trust and transparency of LLM model, we delivered

✨ Source Transparency 💡 Fine-tuning for personalized suggestions 📚 Data collection survey

"I want to know where the information is coming from, and if Pawssistant can provide me from trust-worthy sources."
Pawssistant uses vet-approved information with a smart algorithm to customize advice, helping you make informed decisions for your pets' care.

The service model

The Value

Elevating Pet Health through Early Detection and Shared Veterinary Partnerships

Our solution doesn't aim to replace a vet; instead, it focuses on early disease detection, preventing more severe and potentially fatal situations. Through accurate data collection, ensuring prompt interventions, and fostering better collaborations, we prioritize the overall well-being of pets.

Utilizes LLM technology to deliver well-informed recommendations, aiding pet owners in making complex decisions with greater confidence.
Helps pet owners gain a deeper understanding of their pets, which not only saves time but also alleviates emotional and financial stress.
Offers comprehensive, disease-focused 'Health and Care-plan mode' for efficient, lifelong management of pets' health and care needs.

The impact

“Pawssistant addresses a critical need in the pet caregiving space. The team aim providing a streamlined journey using Gen AI capability that enhances pet owners' confidence and agency in managing their pets' health. I always think of this project while I am taking care of my old cat.”

- JoEllen Kames (Director of User Experience Design @Salesforce)

learning & reflections

01
Know when to explore multiple options or commit to a single concept.
We started our concept by sketching and thinking about combining several ideas. But we soon realized that instead of merging multiple concepts, it was better to begin with a narrow scope and explore more options later on.

02
Don’t let color slow down your rapid prototyping in low-fidelity iterations.

When trying to understand the user flow, it’s important to focus on the process. Start with black and white. This allows us to test the structure easily without getting distracted by content or visuals.

MY ROLEDesign research | UI / UX Design | Product Design | Visual Design | Service Design | Business Strategy

FRAMEWORK & TOOLS
Primary + Secondary Research, Storyboarding, HMW (How Might We), User Journey Map, Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Scenarios, Business model & System Mapping, AI Design and Framework

TIMELINESep, 2023- Dec, 2023

ADVISOR JoEllen Kames, Jennifer Levin

TEAM
Han Wen (Vanessa) Chang, Sunmin Ko, Eunji Kim