AI Isn’t Coming, It’s Here — and We’re Making It Work for Your Lifesaving

We know that AI can be transformative in lifesaving because we’re already seeing it happen, and, as our CEO Julie Castle writes in her new blog, this is just the beginning.  

Best Friends has always moved before the field was comfortable. We challenged a 150-year-old catch-and-kill system when the prevailing wisdom said it was inevitable. We pushed positive, lifesaving stories into spaces that had always led with limitation and loss. We set bold public goals before they felt achievable, and then the field built alongside us. That's how more than two-thirds of the nation reached no-kill status. Not because Best Friends said so, but because the whole field moved. 

AI is the next chapter of that same story. It’s changing how every industry operates, and animal welfare is not exempt. Your organizations use AI to interpret data, craft meeting agendas, make job descriptions, or even streamline your adoption process. Some of you are just starting to experiment; others are already building workflows around it, saving hours of manual time. The question is not whether to engage, but whether we choose to shape that change in service of lifesaving or wait and react to it after the fact.

The shelters and rescues that will save more animals, recruit more fosters, and make the case to their communities most effectively will be the ones that learn how to use these tools well. We're here to help you navigate it — sharing what we've learned, surfacing what works, and building the resources and solutions that help every organization move forward, regardless of budget or tech capacity.

Whatever your experience with AI, or your level of comfort, we want you to know about Best Friends’ ideas and innovations in this space and the ways we think it can work for your lifesaving right now.  

Best Friends has submitted two sessions to SXSW 2027 about how we're using AI to save more lives. Getting picked up by SXSW isn’t about a trophy. It means putting the no-kill movement in front of an audience we almost never reach: technologists, investors, and creators who could become partners, funders, or champions we don't have yet. It's a chance to expand our reach far beyond the animal welfare world, bring new resources, support, and new believers into the mission, and get one step closer to achieving no-kill nationwide. You can help us bring lifesaving to SXSW by voting for our sessions about how AI can save shelter pets, and why the tech industry should help us do it. 

 To vote, follow these easy steps:

We’re hosting a new webinar series titled AI for Lifesaving, and our next one is August 27. Register now. 

Then, stay tuned for info about an AI Summit in October where leaders from the tech sector and animal welfare movement will gather to find ways for our industries to work together to save lives. 

And here’s a tool you can use right now: Check out the AI Prompt Kit for Shelter and Rescue Professionals. This AI prompt kit gives shelter and rescue leaders ready-to-use prompts to save you time and give you ideas for using AI!  

Note: Both SXSW sessions describe work that is in progress, not yet complete, as of this writing (August 2026). Julie and Kasey's session references a new AI tool currently in development, on track to be built by SXSW 2027. Whitney and Steven's session references the Charter Summit, scheduled for October 2026. Both will be completed facts by the March 2027 conference dates.