--- title: AI Guardrails for Zoos & Aquariums | SSA Group description: Explore four takeaways from AZA 2026 on AI guardrails, responsible AI use, and how zoos and aquariums can support their teams and mission. image: https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/SSA%20AI%20Takeway%20Hero%20Image.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.thessagroup.com/ai-guardrails-for-zoos-aquariums-ssa-group#main-content) [![SSAGroup-2026Logo-Black](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Assets%20-%20June2026/images/SSAGroup-2026Logo-Black.svg)](https://thessagroup.com/) - [Who We Are](https://thessagroup.com/who-we-are/) - [Our Services](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - [Industries We Serve](https://thessagroup.com/what-we-do/) - News & Insights - [Blog](https://blog.thessagroup.com) - [Case Studies](https://landing.thessagroup.com/case-studies-ssa-group) - [Careers](https://thessagroup.com/careers/) [Talk to Our Team](https://thessagroup.com/contact/) # AI at Zoos and Aquariums: 4 Takeaways on Leading with Purpose [Admin](https://blog.thessagroup.com/author/admin) October 14th , 2026 ![\AI at Zoos and Aquariums: 4 Takeaways on Leading with Purpose\](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/SSA%20AI%20Takeway%20Hero%20Image.jpg) Artificial intelligence is creating new possibilities for zoos and aquariums. It's also raising some important questions. How can AI help teams do their jobs better? What does responsible use look like for organizations committed to conservation? And how do we explore new technology without losing the human connections that make our institutions special? At the [2026 AZA Annual Conference](https://www.aza.org/conferences-meetings), SSA Group joined zoo and aquarium leaders for a candid conversation about these questions and more during a session on AI strategy. The discussion wasn’t about having all the answers or embracing AI at every opportunity. As SSA COO Travis Kight put it at the start of the session, one of the hardest questions is “Where do you lean in, and where do you pause, and where do you lean out?” The panel explored where the technology can genuinely help, where caution is needed, and how to move forward in ways that support your people, animals and mission. Here are four takeaways that stood out. ## 1. Start With People, Not Technology AI can bring excitement and uncertainty, sometimes in the same conversation. For employees, questions about changing responsibilities and job security are real, and leaders shouldn't shy away from them. One of the strongest messages from the panel was the importance of bringing teams into the conversation early. That means listening to concerns, being transparent about what is and isn't known, and inviting employees at every level to help identify opportunities.  Travis shared two simple questions his team regularly asks to challenge assumptions: > “Is it true? And are you sure?” That same willingness to question assumptions and have honest conversations is especially important when addressing employee concerns about AI. As Travis noted, leaders don't need to have all the answers. But staying silent can leave employees to draw their own conclusions about what's coming. Jason Stover, Executive Vice President of AI Strategy at SSA Group, reinforced that point. Drawing on his experience working in different roles across zoos, he emphasized that AI will affect employees at every level, making it critical to get their “voices in the room” when exploring how the technology could shape their work. At SSA Group, we believe those conversations are essential. After all, the people doing the work every day often have the clearest understanding of where improvements could make a difference. Technology may change how work gets done, but people should remain central to how decisions are made. ## 2. Establish AI Guardrails That Protect Trust Responsible use of AI starts with knowing where to draw the line. Panelists discussed the importance of establishing clear [AI guardrails](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-guardrails), from protecting sensitive information to being transparent about when and how AI is used. For mission-driven organizations, those guardrails go beyond data security. As Dr. Alejandro Grajal, President and CEO of [Woodland Park Zoo](https://zoo.org/), emphasized during the discussion, an institution's reputation is built on trust and integrity. Protecting that trust means being thoughtful about how AI is used, what information is shared, and how decisions are made. That includes keeping human judgment in the process. AI can help organize information, identify patterns, and support decision-making, but its output isn't always accurate. Charles Hopper, President & CEO of the [Santa Barbara Zoo](https://www.sbzoo.org/) described this as keeping a “human in the loop.” In practice, that means reviewing AI-generated work, checking facts, and verifying information before relying on it. Alejandro shared that at Woodland Park Zoo his management team flags when AI has been used, helping ensure there's transparency and human oversight when important decisions are being made. The goal isn't to create so many restrictions that teams are afraid to explore. It's to establish clear, practical guidelines that give people the confidence to use AI responsibly while protecting the trust their organizations have worked hard to earn. ## 3. Find Practical Opportunities to Support Teams Not every AI application needs to be a major initiative. Sometimes the most meaningful improvements come from solving everyday challenges. During the session, panelists shared examples of how AI is being explored and applied across zoo and aquarium operations. At the Cincinnati Zoo, staff have developed an AI-assisted scheduling and assessment tool for animal ambassador programs. By bringing information about animal availability, activity, and welfare considerations into one place, the tool gives staff easier access to the information they need to make decisions that prioritize animal well-being. Other opportunities discussed included simplifying administrative tasks, analyzing attendance patterns, and helping facilities teams make sense of complex utility data. These examples share a common theme: start with a real challenge and ask whether AI can help solve it. For teams already balancing competing priorities, the opportunity isn't simply to work faster. It's to spend less time navigating repetitive tasks and more time focused on the people, animals, and work that matter most to them. ## 4. Balance Innovation With Your Conservation Mission For zoos and aquariums, the conversation about AI comes with an additional responsibility: understanding its environmental impact. AI requires energy and water, and those costs deserve serious consideration from organizations dedicated to protecting natural resources. The panel didn't dismiss those concerns. Instead, the discussion explored how institutions can better understand AI's environmental footprint while finding opportunities to reduce it. The [Cincinnati Zoo](https://cincinnatizoo.org/) for example, is working with environmental partners, including the Ohio Environmental Council, to measure the impact of its AI use. Once it better understands that impact, the Zoo hopes to find ways to offset it through its existing community solar program, which helps local nonprofits, including food banks and schools, install solar panels. The Zoo is also exploring how AI could help identify inefficiencies in its utility systems, with the goal of reducing energy consumption and its overall carbon footprint. Mark Fisher, COO, at the [Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens](https://cincinnatizoo.org/), described the challenge of managing data from hundreds of utility meters and multiple systems. With so much information to review, identifying where to focus can be overwhelming. “Utility data is what drives your carbon footprint more than anything,” Mark explained. He envisions AI helping technicians cut through that complexity by highlighting the issues that need attention each day, allowing them to spend less time reviewing data and more time addressing problems throughout the Zoo. But AI's potential extends beyond reducing operational impacts. Dr. Alejandro Grajal described a conservation project in Washington's North Cascades, where an estimated 14 wolverines remain. Camera traps collect tens of thousands of images of wolverines, wolves, bears, and other wildlife. AI helps researchers sort through that data, opening new possibilities for studying wildlife populations that would be extremely challenging through manual analysis alone. For Alejandro, the potential to transform conservation research is particularly exciting:   > “The idea of really changing the trajectory of the planet and the trajectory of populations and endangered species and habitats ... shifting from a science of scarcity to a science of action that is data driven by outcomes, is blowing my mind.” These applications hold promise, but they don't eliminate the need to understand AI's environmental costs. For conservation-focused organizations, responsible innovation means considering both sides of that equation and making choices that reflect their mission. ## The Conversation Is Just Beginning If there was one message that connected the entire discussion, it was that thoughtful AI adoption starts with asking the right questions. Where could it genuinely help our teams? What risks do we need to understand? How do we protect the trust we've built? And how can we use these tools in ways that support our mission? The answers will look different for each organization, and they'll continue to evolve as technology changes. **You don't need to have AI figured out to start having meaningful conversations about it now.** Sometimes, bringing the right people together and asking those questions is the most important first step.   Share ![Admin](https://blog.thessagroup.com/hubfs/Assets%20-%20June2026/images/leader-dummy.jpg) ### About the Author #### Admin Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. Stay Connected ## Enjoyed This Article? 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