Pet Care Startup empowered non-technical team members to redefine their AI customer interactions

Pet Portal AI, an innovative startup in the $232 billion global pet care industry, faced the challenge of creating an AI-powered chatbot that could adapt quickly to the rapidly evolving landscape of AI models while maintaining its unique, fun-focused brand identity. In a market dominated by clinical and academic approaches focused on practitioners and not “Pet Parents”, Pet Portal AI’s whimsical chatbot stands out as a key differentiator.

Pet Portal partnered with Hint Services to develop a flexible, user-friendly solution that would allow non-technical team members to experiment with and optimize their AI interactions, further enhancing their playful approach to pet care.

The Challenge

In the fast-paced world of AI development, Pet Portal AI needed a solution that could:

1. Quickly adapt to new AI models as they became available
2. Allow non-technical team members to configure and experiment with AI solutions
3. Create an engaging and “sticky” chatbot experience for users
4. Provide the team direct control over the AI configuration
5. Differentiate Pet Portal AI from clinical and academic competitors in the pet care space

As we began working with Pet Portal AI, we uncovered a critical challenge: the founder, felt disconnected from previous attempts to implement the chatbot. As a creator and visionary, he needed to be a bigger part of the project and have a deeper understanding of the solution. This realization highlighted a pivotal need—not just for a technical solution but for one that empowered Ryan and his team. Uncovering and addressing this need became a cornerstone of our unique value proposition.

Crafting the Solution

Our approach centered on developing a flexible AI configuration system that empowered both the founder and non-technical team members while maintaining Pet Portal AI’s playful tone:

1. Leveraging Sanity CMS for Custom Workflows

We utilized Sanity CMS, a content management system that allows for the construction of custom schemas tailored to a team’s specific needs. By designing a schema that mirrored Pet Portal AI’s business domain, we enabled non-technical team members to interact with the AI configuration in a human-readable way. This meant they could adjust settings without dealing with complex databases or JSON files, streamlining their workflow.

2. Empowering the Founder

By involving Ryan directly in the configuration process through an intuitive interface, we ensured his creative vision was seamlessly integrated into the chatbot experience. This empowerment reconnected him with the project, fostering innovation and faster iterations.

3. Rapid Adaptation to New AI Models

Recognizing that AI is a rapidly advancing field with new models emerging regularly, we built interfaces within Sanity that allowed the team to pick and tune different AI models directly in the application. This capability enabled Pet Portal AI to adapt and transform their solutions quickly, staying ahead in the competitive landscape.

4. Prompt Traceability Platform Integration

Understanding the complexity of chatbot interactions and the need to measure “stickiness” or user enjoyment, we integrated a traceability platform. This tool helped us monitor prompt changes and their effects on the final output, providing valuable insights into user experiences and facilitating data-driven optimizations.

5. Addressing Complexity and Dependencies

While adding features, we were mindful of the challenges that come with increased complexity. We focused on minimizing hierarchies and dependencies in how each AI call was configured. By keeping the configuration straightforward, we ensured that Sanity CMS remained an effective tool for the team without becoming cumbersome.

Throughout the development process, we emphasized creating workflows that revolved around the team’s understanding of their business domain, allowing for rapid experimentation and innovation.

Commentary from the Industry

Lorilyn McCue, Head of AI product at Superhuman - “One thing that my engineer manager, Sachin, has spent a lot of time doing is making it so that nontechnical people like myself can do the things that don’t require technical expertise like edit a prompt, edit a prompt and make it so that change goes into code. We are using mustache templates for our prompts now, so that they’re so easy even a PM can do it. That makes it so that I can iterate on this stuff fast. He is working on building tooling so that we can uplevel me and let the engineers do more engineering stuff.”

It Shipped That Way

Results and Outcomes

Implementing our solution led to significant improvements for Pet Portal AI:

1. Founder Re-engagement: The founder transitioned from feeling disconnected to having direct control and understanding of the AI configuration, leading to more innovative ideas and a renewed passion for the project.

2. Empowered Non-Technical Team Members: New prompt authors could now directly contribute to improving AI interactions without relying on developers, fostering a more collaborative and efficient environment.

3. Rapid Experimentation and Adaptation: The team reduced the time to implement and test new AI models from an average of one week to just one hour. This agility allowed them to rapidly adapt to new AI advancements and optimize the user experience.

4. Improved Chatbot Performance: With the ability to fine-tune prompts and easily switch between models, Pet Portal AI saw an increase in user engagement and satisfaction with their chatbot.

5. Enhanced Visibility and Data-Driven Decisions: The integration of the traceability platform provided valuable insights into how users interacted with the chatbot. This data empowered the team to make informed decisions to further improve the AI interactions.

6. Streamlined Workflows: By constructing custom workflows in Sanity CMS that catered to the team’s understanding, we eliminated bottlenecks and increased overall efficiency in managing AI configurations.

These outcomes demonstrate how our solution not only enhanced operational efficiency but also reinforced Pet Portal AI’s unique market position as the fun, engaging alternative in the pet care industry.

Testimonial

“Hint Services has been incredible to work with and have really helped bring our vision to life! Love the way the team breaks down and simplify concepts AND processes (i.e., Sanity !😊)”

Ryan Gruzen, Founder of Pet Portal AI

Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Through this project, we gained valuable insights:

1. Uncovering Underlying Needs: Discovering the founder’s desire to be more involved was pivotal. It underscored the importance of understanding not just the technical requirements but also the personal and organizational dynamics at play.

2. The Power of Customizable Tools: Leveraging Sanity CMS to create custom schemas and workflows proved invaluable in empowering non-technical team members and aligning the tool with the business domain.

3. Balancing Complexity: While some complexity is necessary, it’s crucial to avoid overcomplicating configurations. Keeping hierarchies and dependencies to a minimum ensures tools remain user-friendly and effective.

4. The Importance of Traceability: Integrating a traceability platform was essential in understanding user interactions and optimizing the chatbot’s performance based on real data.

Looking ahead, Pet Portal AI plans to:

• Expand AI Integration: Apply AI solutions to other areas of their business using CMS and framework-powered platforms like Sanity.
• Enhance Chat Experiences: Further analyze and improve their chatbot interactions using insights from the traceability platform.
• Explore Advanced AI Features: Integrate more advanced AI capabilities, such as multi-modal interactions and personalized user experiences.