Petbarn, which is part of the Greencross Group, set out to transform pet care through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Their vision was PetAI, a generative AI chatbot designed to provide instant, reliable advice and personalised product recommendations to pet owners. Maddocks partnered with Greencross to make this vision a reality within an accelerated timeframe. 

Launching AI technology in retail comes with heightened scrutiny. Petbarn needed a solution that was not only innovative but also aligned with privacy, consumer law, and emerging AI governance standards.

The project commenced before the official release of Guidance from the Government regarding AI. However, our team of compliance and technology experts were ahead of the curve and were able to anticipate issues regarding openness, transparency and accountability prior to the release of Government guidance, ensuring that the client was able to be the first-in-its-market for GenAI powered Petcare assistance.

Maddocks provided AI advisory for the lifetime of the project, and legal guidance across three key areas:

• Advising on its contractual arrangements with Greencross’ service providers from a risk-perspective.
• Conducting a Privacy Impact Assessment on PetAI to assist Greencross demonstrate compliance with Australian privacy laws and anticipated voluntary AI guardrails.
• Based off the risk assessment from the PIA, preparing a number of customer facing deliverables to assist Greencross demonstrate a good-practice approach to responsible AI, positioning Greencross as a leader in ethical technology adoption.

Maddocks was able to fast-track this project working shoulder-to-shoulder with the client on a Christmas deadline. Our previous work as the long-term privacy, technology and data partner for Greencross meant that policies, procedures and governance structures were able to be quickly uplifted to address the emerging risks associated with AI adoption and implementation.

PetAI now helps thousands of pet owners access trusted advice instantly. Our proactive compliance strategy has ensured Greencross stays ahead of scrutiny and has set a benchmark for AI in retail. Greencross credits our privacy and cyber compliance methodology with driving a cultural shift towards stronger data governance.

PetAI isn’t just a chatbot, it’s an AI-powered game-changer for pet care. Combining cutting-edge technology with responsible practices, and redefining customer experience in the digital age.

PetAI was a finalist in the Customer experience category of the AFR AI Awards. You can read more about this here.

The Maddocks team was led by Partners Sonia Sharma and Brendan Tomlinson, and were supported by Senior Associate Shivani Thirayan, Associate Colin Yuan and Lawyer John Naoom.