This month, we’re excited to introduce CompanAIn, an AI-powered pet wellness platform founded by Daniel Island resident Michelle Wiltse, who is transforming the way we care for our pets. Their mission: help pet parents stay proactive, informed, and connected through smarter, real-time insights. We did a quick Q&A with Michelle to learn more about her journey and the technology behind CompanAIn.

I’ve spent much of my career at the intersection of technology and human-centered design, but healthcare and animals have always been my deepest passions. CompanAIn grew out of my own experience as a pet parent: seeing how much love we pour into our animals, yet how hard it is to connect the dots on their health over time. 

Daniel Island has shaped that mission in a very real way. This is a community that adores its pets and takes health and wellness seriously. We see owners who want tools that give their companions a clearer voice and help them stay proactive, so they can protect both quality of life and, hopefully, the number of good years they share. 

I’ve seen the power (and drawbacks) of AI in other industries: it can simplify complexity, but it can also miss the mark when it’s built without empathy or context. With CompanAIn, I wanted to take that same power and point it toward something deeply human—supporting families and their animals with technology that is transparent, research-driven, intelligent, and driven by empathy. The issue isn’t that we lack great vets or specialists; it’s that continuity and access often break down, and so much of a pet’s story lives only in an owner’s memory. CompanAIn is designed to democratize a first line of understanding, especially for families under financial stress or in “vet deserts,” while still keeping veterinarians at the center of care.

CompanAIn uses “agentic AI,” which means it doesn’t just answer questions in the moment, it actively works on behalf of each pet and family over time. We do not believe in transactional care.

Most pet-care apps are either static (education, reminders, records storage) or reactive (you ask a question, they give you a one-off answer). CompanAIn is built very differently. We have specialized AI “agents” that collaborate behind the scenes across the companion’s information before making a recommendation. The result is not a generic tip, but a historically aware, species-specific, and context-rich insight. 

In short, traditional apps store information or answer in isolation. CompanAIn uses agentic AI to connect the dots, take control of what’s changing, and support earlier, better-informed decisions—while always keeping the veterinarian at the center of care.

Our living health timeline and trend detection are designed to help owners see patterns, not just isolated moments.Instead of health feeling like a series of disconnected visits or events, the timeline turns it into a clear, continuous story. Trend detection then looks at how things are changing over time and surfaces what’s stable, what’s improving, and what may need attention.

For the owner, that means fewer surprises, earlier questions, and more focused conversations with their veterinarian. It shifts care from reactive to proactive, without requiring them to be a medical expert or sift through scattered information on their own. Every companion has a story. CompanAIn also partners with veterinarians.

We created a secure Vet Portal where a pet owner’s veterinarian can securely log in, upload records and notes, and see the same health timeline, smart tracking, and insights that the owner sees. Within the portal, vets can effectively “agree” or “disagree” with those insights, add their own interpretation, and adjust the plan.

The goal isn’t to tell vets what to think, but to empower them—it’s to give them a cleaner, more connected picture in a fraction of the time. Ideally, they can open the portal a few minutes before an appointment, absorb the key insights, and then use the visit itself to focus on the animal and the family in front of them.  The veterinarian-in-the-loop is critical to a transparent, trustworthy, and connect ecosystem for the pet and their human. We have a team of veterinarians working with us to ensure we do what is best for the profession. 

Explore the full CompanAIn platform, meet the founders, and see how agentic AI can support your pet’s health journey at companain.ai Your companion's story—and their wellbeing—deserves nothing less.