More than a third of dog and cat owners in the US have used artificial intelligence for pet care, and most say it made them better prepared for the vet rather than less likely to go.
That comes from the Artificial Intelligence and Pet Health Study, released November 10 by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute and Chewy Health. Researchers surveyed 2,008 owners aged 18 to 70. Among AI users with a vet, 69 percent said it improved their relationship with their vet and 67 percent felt more informed before an appointment. Most opened a chatbot to check a symptom, decode a lab result or prepare for a visit.
If you have typed “dog keeps licking his paw” into a chatbot at 11pm, you are not unusual. Owners were not naive about it either. Eighty-two percent named the obvious limitation: a chatbot cannot examine a dog. Asked to rate personalization, trustworthiness and accuracy, they put veterinary teams far ahead of AI. Only 1 to 2 percent use AI and skip the clinic entirely.
What this means for your dog
AI is a reasonable way to organize your thoughts before an appointment and a bad way to change a prescription. The study’s own guidance for clinics draws the line: AI can help you build a question list, while diagnosis, medication and urgent symptoms belong to the vet. Those questions matter: a symptom that looks ordinary at home can be an eye disease vets rarely test for until it is advanced.
Two habits help. Bring the AI answer with you and say where it came from, so your vet can correct it. Leave your name, address and phone number out of the prompt. And if your dog is struggling to breathe, collapsing or bleeding, close the app and call the clinic.