Bottell: How AI Is Amplifying The Effort Of Parents

Welcome to this week’s Deep-fried Dive with Fry Guy! In these long-form articles, Fry Guy conducts an in-depth analysis of a cutting-edge AI development. Today, our dive is about a transformative AI-powered parenting aid called Bottell. We hope you enjoy!

*Notice: We do not gain any monetary compensation from the projects we feature in the Sunday Deep-fried Dives with Fry Guy. We explore these projects and developers solely for the purpose of revealing to you cutting-edge AI projects, developers, and uses.*

Parenting advice is easy to come by … but that is precisely the problem: It might be too easy to come by. The internet is saturated with parenting advice so much that it is seeping through the cracks and confusing parents more than ever.

Asking a question about parenting can be difficult because answers vary far and wide. Wouldn’t it be nice to just have a personal parenting aid that knows your child and can offer specific, personalized advice on a case-per-case basis? This is where we begin our exploration of Bottell, an AI-powered app which seeks to do just that.

WHO CREATED THIS PROJECT, AND WHY?

Nikki and Stephen Marinsek were once high school sweethearts from a small town in New Mexico, and now years later they are married and parents of three young children whom they adore. The youngest of their children is running around the house, but is not yet talking. Their oldest is starting to talk and also learn some self-control. This is an exciting time of life for any parent, but it comes with its own unique set of challenges and opportunities.

Like many parents, Nikki and Stephen want the best for their children, but they have struggled with where to find that. The internet is full of parenting resources, but it is difficult to navigate and can send the parenting process into a confusing whirlwind. Nikki and Stephen believe that AI has the ability to help parents through this process. As they stated, “We looked for personalized parenting services, and when we didn't find what we were looking for, we decided to build one ourselves. We want to take some of the hassle and guesswork out of parenthood so we can all enjoy it even more.” Nikki and Stephen found a solution by turning to AI: “We wanted to figure out how we can use this amazing technology and make it really good for parents.”

Nikki and Stephen both come from academic backgrounds and maintain busy schedules while they pursue the development of Bottell. Nikki holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and is a data science manager at a tech startup. Stephen has a background in mechanical engineering and is working on a master's degree of his own. Although they both work full time, they have pursued this vision and continue to develop new ideas to make it better each day for parents like themselves.

WHAT CAN BOTTELL DO?

Bottell, launched in April of 2023, can be thought of as a “parenting sidekick.” As Nikki points out, “Parenting comes with a lot of questions—a lot of unknowns and ambiguity—and Bottell is a tool that uses AI to help with this.”

Bottell has a multitude of features which aim to help with multiple facets of the parenting journey. Each is based on the idea that all kids are different, which means parenting methods and techniques should reflect that. Some of the main features of Bottell include personalized advice, the milestones coach, and a personalized blog.

Personalized Advice: Using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Bottell is able to use information about a child’s interests, history, stages of progress, challenges, etc. to personalize responses to parenting questions prompted by the user. It is completely up to the parent what information they feel comfortable implementing into the framework (more information often leads to more successful guidance), but this information is stored in a private profile accessible only to the parents who have the login credentials to the account. It is also important to note that Bottell provides guiding advice rather than prescriptive direction, and it remains very conscious of sensitive topics and does not provide medical advice or diagnoses.

Milestones Coach: This feature uses Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Developmental Milestones as a reference for when a child should reach a certain phase of development. When a child successfully hits these milestones, they get a badge on their profile. Parents can use this reference as a measure for their child’s development. Built into this feature is a ChatGPT-based model which allows parents to seek advice about some activities they can try with their kids or methods they can take to target that specific area of development. This feature often incorporates the likes of children to personalize these activities as well, such as utilizing “superman” or “baby dolls” to help the child learn in a way tailored to them.

Personalized Blog: Every day from birth to 5 years old, there is a short, easy-to-digest blog post, tailored specifically to each child based on the above types of data (interests, history, etc.). As Nikki said, “You want to make sure you are doing right for your kids, but sometimes there is just no specific question to ask. So either you are reading all of these [parenting] blogs or trying to go on social media for insight, but this is where the personalized blog comes in—it fills the gap with little tips and advice each day around development tailored specifically to your child.” Stephen added that the blog feature reveals “the things you didn’t know, but you didn’t know that you didn’t know.”

Beyond the parent-child relationship, Bottell has the potential to enhance the parent-parent relationship. Bottell provides a way for parents to be on the same page with the development of their children and communicate a definitive action plan through the platform. Collaborating as parents on Bottell also allows parents to identify each others’ strengths and weaknesses as parents problem-solve together, encouraging them to work as a team and grow as individuals and in their relationship.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF BOTTELL?

Bottell has a solid foundation from which to build upon, and they plan to do just that. Nikki and Stephen’s plan for the near future is to transition from the building phase of the project to the learning phase. This means they are looking for feedback from parents about their project about how this app could better suit the needs parents have on a daily basis. Using this feedback, they will identify opportunities for growth and continue to shape the roadmap as they go forward.

A particular area Bottell is looking to improve is its transitional programs, which are centered around big transitions for children, such as their current potty training module. This is a path they look to explore and develop in the near future, beginning with milestones like learning new words or social skills.

Another feature that might be implemented in the near future is a list of pre-formulated questions across a wide range of topics, such as “What should I ask my pediatrician at the next visit?” This feature might be helpful for parents who aren’t quite sure what to ask or how to formulate a question they want to ask. As Nikki and Stephen point out, “There are all these things you don’t really think to ask, but once you do and you marry that with your child’s profile, you get a different experience than merely Googling something.”

On the topic of questions, Bottell is also looking to implement recommended follow-up questions in their responses to parents’ original questions. This will help parents explore a certain answer further or reformulate their original question in a way which is more pertinent to what they are trying to figure out.

The purpose of Bottell is not to replace parents or act as an additional parent. Rather, it is to be used as an aid for parents as they organize and track their child’s learning and development and look for ways to enhance parenting methods and strategies. As Nikki and Stephen say, “Parenthood is great, but it does come with a lot of stress. And we do think there is great opportunity for this to take off some of that mental burden and give guidance and emotional support to amplify the effort of parents.”

GET BOTTELL WITH THIS FRY-AI SPECIAL OFFER:

FryAI has a special offer for those who want to try out the Bottell app!

1 Month Free Premium Membership (usually $5)
➡️ Promo code: FRYAI1MONTHFREE

Half-off Potty Training Module ($9.50, usually $19 (and any others released in the near future)
➡️ Promo code: FRYAIJOURNEY50

*Promos valid until 1/1/2024*