We all talk to our pets, but what if our pets could talk back? That’s the core idea behind Shazam Band by Personifi AI, a wearable device that translates your pet’s mood, movements, and emotions into words. Using artificial intelligence, it makes two-way communication possible.
If all this sounds crazy, it’s just the beginning of what makes the Shazam Band one of the wildest pieces of tech we’ve seen in a while. And if I didn’t see it working, I doubt I’d believe it was real.
This is Shazam, an AI-powered pet collar
Shazam comes in two sizes, one for dogs and one suitable for cats, and is worn like a collar. It features various sensors, including a six-axis gyroscope, GPS, temperature sensor, speaker, and microphone. There’s a battery inside that lasts for weeks when charged and another spare battery in the box, so you can always have one charged and ready to use. It uses artificial intelligence to interpret your pet’s movements, actions, and tone when speaking to them to create verbal responses that reflect your pet’s intentions, thoughts, and personality.
I know. It sounds either insanely silly or absolutely brilliant, depending on your level of pet obsession. But stick with me, because it’s been thought through better than you might expect.
Ever wonder how Shazam interprets what your pet is thinking accurately enough to put it into words that match your pet’s personality? The company partnered with Matt Besner, the well-known dog trainer from “Dog: Impossible” on Disney+, to train the artificial intelligence, along with social media voiceover star Bobby Johnson, also known as “The RxckStxr,” and voice actor Jorjeana Marie.
Another key member of the team is Roscoe, the founder of Personifi AI, and its CEO John MacNeil. Roscoe is one of hundreds of animals who have already been trained in artificial intelligence. During a short video call over Zoom before the announcement, I saw Roscoe interacting with McHale and other team members through Shazam. Not only did he wag his tail, move up and down, but he verbally interacted. No, I’m not kidding. It was as crazy as it sounds.
One of the weirdest tech shows I’ve seen
When I spoke to MacNeil, it was early in the morning at their offices, and Roscoe hadn’t been fed or walked, and he seemed a bit grumpy after waking up. We laughed at the idea of doing a tech demo using an animal, a wearable device, and an AI system to interpret its actions and play them back in real-time, and how it was a recipe for disaster. In fact, the brief moments that followed were a glimpse of a future Doctor Dolittle scenario.
Roscoe was asked if he wanted to go for a walk and chase squirrels, as well as if he had been fed, all in the usual rhetorical way we talk to pets. Except through Shazam, Roscoe answered. Not in this way if you listened closely I think he said hot dogs, but he did speak.
Okay, Roscoe didn’t actually talk, but the words came from the speaker on the wearable Shazam device in the distinctive gravelly voice of Roscoe. Yes, he was hungry, and he was likely looking to chase squirrels, and he was frustrated that none of these things happened. The voice and tone will be familiar to anyone who’s watched Bobby Johnson’s comedic voiceovers.
No, I’m not kidding. It was as crazy as it sounds.
It was one of the weirdest tech shows I’ve seen, and I smiled and laughed throughout, my mind oscillating between childlike joy and utter bewilderment. You won’t be discussing Tolstoy with your pet wearing Shazam, but you’ll see a new side to their personality.
However, there’s also the possibility of a more serious use case. MacNeil explained that the idea occurred to him after Roscoe was bitten by a snake and managed to hide the issue, but clearly he wasn’t himself. Roscoe ultimately underwent several risky surgeries and survived, but if he could say he had been bitten by a snake, it could have been addressed much sooner.
Turning your pet into an AI-powered chatbot?
Even with Shazam, it’s unlikely that Roscoe would be able to express being bitten by a snake, but he might be able to express that something isn’t right in a way we can understand and act upon quickly. A visit to the vet would also be unforgettable, that’s for sure.
Shazam may also help your pet express concern for you, providing more emotional support when it comes and checks on you, understanding that you’re sad, sick, or in need of a furry hug. As the Shazam app is AI-powered and constantly learning, it’s not like getting a series of canned responses that approximate emotions. It’s more like an AI-powered chatbot, but instead of being a voice from an empty vessel, Shazam takes your pet’s real emotions and personality, or the personality you’ve given them, and blends them into a voice, so it shouldn’t come off as something fake. Shazam has a choice of 27 characters, each with its own unique personality and voice ranging from a charming Southern belle to a fast-talking mafia boss, as well as the ability to craft individual character traits through the app. Many voices are also available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
The app also displays activity tracking data from the Shazam collar, with the built-in GPS system tracking your pet’s location, as well as having a geofencing feature to encourage them to stay within certain boundaries. It does this by verbally telling your pet through the speaker that it’s going somewhere it shouldn’t, as if it’s in their subconscious mind, which might disturb the neighbors. You can set one voice as the primary caregiver and program other secondary voices as well, for added security and keeping things simple for your pet.
Giving a voice to your pet isn’t cheap
Putting words in your pet’s mouth won’t come cheap. The Shazam wearable device is priced at $495 for the small version and $595 for the large version, which includes one voice option and access to the app for a year. If you want to change voices, they are $99 each time, and there’s a $295 subscription per year after the first. Pre-orders start on October 25th, and orders will ship in February 2025.
It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it
We already try to understand and interpret the personalities and emotions of our pets. Shazam takes it to the next level by expressing those feelings in a language we understand. When you first see it in action, it might seem a bit silly, but after a few moments, you’ll understand the amount of fun you can have and even how it can help keep your pet safe and healthy. Also, the big question is how long this fun will continue after novelty wears off. There’s also a hefty cost to find out.
Shazam is a wild product to the point where you’ll either walk away after seeing it, or you’ll be strongly tempted to place your order, or you’ll think it’s one of the most absurd things ever. The voices and characters created by Personifi AI won’t be available to everyone either, and the voices heard were hard to resist for the hook they chose – the superhero character like Buzz Lightyear was most exciting, for example. I can imagine they could become downright hilarious. However, if you don’t want Shazam/pet interrupting, it’s as simple as saying “calm down,” just like you normally do.
Every pet owner has wondered what their pet would say if they could talk, and Shazam makes it possible to answer that question to some extent. As for whether it works in the real world and beyond the very short demo presentation, we’ll have to see, but I came out of seeing Shazam at work believing there will be a lot of crazy cat and dog owners who will integrate this wild piece of technology, regardless of the cost.
