The AI Collar That Lets You Talk to Your Dog

This piece, by Mariano Frare-Finnerty, was published on 02/25/25. The original text, by Graham Barlow, was published by techradar on 10/15/24.

Have you ever wished that your dog could speak back to you? Well, that wish can become a reality. John McHale, CEO of Personifi AI, the company behind Shazam, has created a collar for dogs that allows them to speak. Called the “Shazam Band,” this new AI-powered collar contains speakers and sensors that let your pet talk to you. This band also allows you to track your pet and sends text messages to your phone if they are in danger or if they get left behind somewhere. 

The “Shazam Band” uses AI trained on large data sets, similar to how ChatGPT is trained. This band contains sensors that listen to the words you say to your pet while also interpreting its kinematic behaviors. McHale calls this “sentience augmentation,” which means the AI collar attempts to express a pet’s emotions, such as happiness, sadness, or excitement.

The key feature of this collar is that it uses machine learning to analyze a pet’s behavior and vocalizations and generates real-time responses in human voices. Moreover, this band has different speech personalizations, and owners can choose 25 different voice personas, such as different accents and different tones, such as comedic tones. 

While the ideas seem fun, the critical question is whether the device works. In a live demo, Roscoe, the CEO’s dog, responded to the owner's emotions and actions while wearing the AI collar. For instance, during a tug-of-war game, the collar quoted Captain America. Nevertheless, it's unclear whether this device truly understands pets or is merely projecting human-like interpretations onto their behavior. 

This device can currently be pre-ordered. A GPS-enabled model costs $595, while a standard version costs $495. The device is an intriguing concept in a world that advances by the second in all AI-related spheres. However, it raises questions about whether it is a genuinely good idea resulting from recent tech-AI booms or simply wishful thinking from dog owners worldwide.

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