Are you ready to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine? The vast sea of AI software, integrations, and standalone tools can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to implement them all at once. Consider starting small and with intentionality to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks.
Your veterinary practice may already use artificial intelligence to write and summarize medical records, analyze radiographs, run in-house lab work, or automate communication. As new tools become available, an implementation strategy becomes essential.
Bruce Truman, MBA, founder of BLT Technology & Innovation Group, explains that teams shouldn’t adopt tools for the sake of novelty. Instead, smart business decisions in the AI space can improve care and support the people delivering it.
Whether you’re experimenting with AI-powered summaries or curious about diagnostic support tools, the key to preparing for the shift to AI in veterinary medicine is prioritizing deliberation over speed.
A common mistake, Truman says, is adopting standalone AI tools without considering how they’ll function within your larger veterinary practice management ecosystem. Tools that create more work by requiring you to jump back and forth between screens won’t maximize efficiency.
"In order to scale up and be successful, that AI and scribe platform has to be using more than just voice dictation,” says Truman. “It has to be integrated into the practice software, looking at the medical record in real time, and ingesting old and incoming diagnostics in the patient history to help the veterinarian draw out differentials and write SOAP notes.”
Rather than adopting the trendiest new platform, Truman and Dr. Karen Bolten, The Business Vet, both recommend identifying areas where your team struggles and finding AI solutions to fix those bottlenecks.
For Dr. Bolten, the pain point was medical records. "The AI scribes have just been amazing. I save 15 minutes per pet, which has made a huge difference in cognitive load – it's not just the time savings,” she noted.
Other pain points that the right AI tools can address may include communication, inventory management, patient follow-ups, and prescription refills, among others. The best AI adoption success stories don’t begin with “What’s new?” They start with “How can we make clinic life easier?”
One risk associated with artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine is the displacement of human emotional connection and expectations. Truman notes, "AI is always a supplement to help the veterinarian, but it does not replace the veterinarian. The veterinarian is the decision maker, the medical professional."
Dr. Bolten echoed this idea. "There are things that AI can replace and things that AI cannot replace. I think when you're talking about customer interactions, you have to be careful because customers still want to walk into the clinic and be able to talk to their doctor.”
If technology doesn’t help you be more present with clients and patients, it’s the wrong technology.
The simplest of AI tools still requires a thoughtful rollout. Team members should feel confident, not just competent, when learning how to work with and alongside artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine. Key tips include:
People need time and space to build trust in new systems. Give veterinary team members ample opportunities to ask questions, express concerns, and offer feedback. When the team feels involved, the willingness to try something new improves.
Dr. Bolten notes that practice culture can make or break your ability to adopt a new AI tool, system, or protocol. "You can’t force AI on an unwilling staff or culture. If that's something that you want, you have to fix the culture first."
Truman suggested having team members start with a free large language model (LLM) so they understand what it can do. “If we're trying to get the veterinary community comfortable with AI, I want everybody on the entire care team in the practice to be using ChatGPT or another similar option. Just start using it to ask random questions instead of Google.”
Pet owners need reassurance. Let them know that artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine helps your team focus on pets rather than paperwork, and that people remain the core of your practice and team.
If a tool directly affects their communication or experience, be transparent about how it works and how it helps. A simple line, such as “This message was generated with help from our AI assistant and reviewed by your veterinary team,” can go a long way in building trust when using tools like chatbots or messaging.
Dr. Bolten finds that most clients are accepting of AI, especially in-room dictation tools that listen to conversations, allowing team members to make eye contact instead of typing notes during visits. "Clients get very antsy, typing notes into their phones. I assure them that the notes will be included on their discharge paperwork and that they can simply sit back and listen. All of a sudden, they’re more engaged in their pet’s care.”
Prioritize leadership more than technology
Artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine requires thoughtful leadership to prevent reckless adoption. Preparing for the AI shift means choosing tools with intention, asking hard questions, protecting your team’s bandwidth, and preserving the human-human and human-animal moments that defy automation.
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