Last week Instinct Science dropped two new surveys on the state of veterinary medicine in 2026. One number jumped off the page: 48% of general practices are now using AI in some form.

That's not a projection. That's not "interested in AI." Nearly half of general practices are actively using it right now.

And the breakdown of what they're using it for tells you everything about where this industry is heading.

The Instinct Science surveys covered both specialty/emergency and general practice settings. Here's what stood out on the general practice side:

63% of AI-using practices are using it for medical records and SOAP note creation. Documentation is still the dominant entry point, just like we've been saying since Issue #1. This isn't a prediction anymore, it's the new path.

38% are using AI for diagnostic assistance. This is the second wave. Tools that help with differential diagnosis, imaging interpretation, and lab analysis are gaining traction after practices get comfortable with scribes first.

21% reported AI scribes as the biggest jump in adoption since 2024. That's the fastest-growing category in vet tech right now. The VIN polls back this up. AI scribe usage among their members went from 3.5% in July 2024 to 17.5% in September 2025. That’s a fivefold increase in 14 months.

More than half said technology reduced treatment or diagnostic errors, and 25% reported it helped capture additional revenue. That's the ROI story practice owners need to hear. AI isn't just saving time, it's catching things that get missed and generating revenue that would have leaked.

There's also a workforce angle. Fewer than 10% of practices still run a traditional full-time, fixed schedule. 40% offer part-time roles. 25% have moved to a four-day work week. The practices adopting AI are also the ones rethinking how their teams work, and technology is what's making that flexibility possible.

The takeaway: if you're not using AI yet, you're now in the minority. And the practices that adopted early aren't just saving time — they're reducing errors, capturing more revenue, and offering better work-life balance to retain staff.

UC Davis veterinary school adopted ScribbleVet as its AI scribe platform. This is the second major vet school to integrate AI scribes into clinical training, following University of Florida. When veterinary students are learning with AI tools from day one, that tells you where the profession is heading. The next generation of vets will expect AI documentation as standard.

CoVet saw 550% growth in user volume across 6 continents and 20 languages in 2025. They also won a 2026 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. Their in-house medical team of 35+ vet professionals released predictions for the year, emphasizing AI's role in reducing charting fatigue and improving vet-client communication. Dr. Adele Williams-Xavier predicted AI will give equine vets their time and confidence back through documentation support during yard-side consults.

AI scribe usage among VIN members jumped from 3.5% to 17.5% in 14 months. That fivefold increase (July 2024 to September 2025) in a self-reported poll of nearly 2,400 vets shows how fast the scribe category is moving. If that growth rate holds, we could see 40-50% scribe adoption by the end of 2026.

A new study from China found an "adoption paradox" — high AI usage despite low familiarity. Veterinary professionals in China are using AI tools daily but most report low understanding of how they work. This mirrors what we're seeing in the US. The tools are outpacing the education around them, which is exactly why resources like VetMedicine.ai matter.

Vet software vendors are being challenged on clinical immersion. Adam Wysocki from VetSoftwareHub published an article asking how many US vet software companies have executive-led programs for observing their software being used in real hospitals. The answer from his initial research: zero. Several vendors responded to prove otherwise — Instinct, Digitail, Lupa, HappyDoc, Scribenote, and VetGeni all shared real clinical immersion programs. The takeaway: the newer AI-native companies tend to have stronger cultures of being in the exam room. Ask your vendor how much time their team spends in actual clinics.

What it is: An AI-powered copilot for veterinary practices that combines documentation automation with human veterinary oversight.

Key features: Transcribes consultations into structured medical records, generates SOAP notes, handles discharge instructions, and supports 20+ languages. Works across mobile and web.

What makes it different: CoVet has a 35-person in-house medical team of practicing veterinarians who guide product development. They won the 2026 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize and saw 550% user growth in 2025.

Who it's for: General practice, emergency, specialty, and large animal. Their team includes expertise across all settings.

What to watch for: As with any AI scribe, test it in your actual exam room environment. Audio quality, background noise, and speaking patterns all affect accuracy.

Full disclosure: I have no affiliate relationship with CoVet. This is an independent overview based on publicly available information.

Adam Wysocki's article about vet software vendors and clinical immersion sparked a revealing response. Several founders came forward with specifics:

Instinct's CEO still takes clinical shifts and gives live weekly product feedback. Digitail's CEO personally does onsite visits during onboardings. Lupa requires every team member to spend at least one day per quarter shadowing in clinics. VetGeni's founder Christopher Tiller built the product while working ER shifts — he still uses it in his clinical work every week.

The pattern is clear: the companies earning the most trust from practitioners right now are the ones whose teams are actually in the exam room. When evaluating any tool, ask the vendor: "How much time does your team spend in real clinics?" If the answer is vague, that tells you something.

Look up the Instinct Science 2026 survey results and compare your practice to the benchmarks. Are you in the 48% using AI, or the 52% that hasn't started? If you haven't started, the data now shows you're in the minority, and the practices that adopted early are seeing measurable benefits in error reduction and revenue capture. If you have started, check whether you're only using AI for documentation or if there are diagnostic and communication tools that could be your next step.

That's Issue #3. Every Thursday, you get a fresh edition covering the AI tools, trends, and decisions that matter for your practice.

If this was useful, forward it to a colleague. If you have questions or want to share how your practice is navigating AI adoption, reply to this email. I read everything.

— Jacob

P.S. Next week I'm looking at the vet schools adopting AI scribes — UC Davis, University of Florida, and what it means when the next generation of DVMs learns with AI from day one. If you're a vet student or educator, I'd love to hear your perspective. Hit reply.