Last week I said we'd dig into vet schools adopting AI scribes. Turns out, the story is bigger than I expected.

Three major veterinary programs have now integrated AI scribes into their curriculum — not as an experiment, but as a core part of clinical training. That changes the trajectory of the entire profession.

In the last 12 months, three of the most respected veterinary programs in the country announced AI scribe partnerships:

UC Davis partnered with ScribbleVet in November 2025, deploying it across their teaching hospital. They formed a dedicated task force — led by Associate Dean Joie Watson and faculty clinicians — to assess how AI scribing performs in a teaching environment and how to expand it from the clinic floor into the classroom.

"AI-driven tools are becoming integral to modern veterinary practice," said Michael Mison, DVM, DACVS, associate dean at UC Davis. "Integrating this technology into our teaching hospital ensures our trainees develop familiarity with tools that enhance communication, streamline workflows, and ultimately support better patient care."

University of Florida was actually the first, announcing a ScribbleVet collaboration in March 2025 for use across their College of Veterinary Medicine's facilities and classroom settings.

Colorado State University took a different route, partnering with CoVet for a 12-month collaboration focused on integrating AI into veterinary education with a focus on responsible and ethical use.

Why this matters for practicing DVMs:

The students graduating in 2027 and 2028 will expect AI documentation as a baseline — the way current graduates expect a cloud-based PIMS. If your practice doesn't have AI scribes by the time you're hiring this next class, you'll be competing for talent with one hand tied behind your back.

This isn't just an education story. It's a hiring and retention signal. The expectation gap between what new graduates are trained on and what practices actually offer is about to widen significantly.

My view: Within 3 years, "AI-assisted documentation" will appear on job postings the same way "digital radiography" does now. The practices that adopt early won't just save time — they'll attract better candidates.

CoVet wins the 2026 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. The recognition comes alongside a staggering 550% growth in user volume across 6 continents and 20 languages in 2025. CoVet's in-house medical team — 35+ practicing veterinarians — also released predictions for AI in 2026, emphasizing that the biggest impact will come from "compounding incremental progress" rather than flashy features. (Purina/CoVet announcement)

MediCapture launches aiScope for veterinary imaging. The Texas-based company is piloting real-time AI vision analysis for veterinary endoscopy, ultrasound, and surgical cameras. The system runs locally on the device — no cloud, no external GPUs — and supports open-source models. Broader commercial availability expected this summer. Worth watching for specialty and academic practices. (MediCapture announcement)

AAHA publishes a pet owner guide on AI scribing. In a notable shift, the American Animal Hospital Association released an article aimed at pet owners — not vets — explaining what AI scribing is and why it benefits their experience. The key line: "Is it time for your pet's annual wellness exam? Be sure to inquire about whether or not your AAHA-accredited veterinary practice is utilizing AI scribing." When AAHA is telling owners to ask about AI, the adoption pressure just shifted from supply to demand. (AAHA article)

Provet Cloud publishes an AI scribe buyer's framework. Their four questions cut through the noise: Is it native to your PIMS or a separate login? How does it handle your practice's terminology? Who owns the transcription data? What does your documentation look like if you switch vendors? That last one — data portability — is the question nobody asks until it's too late. (Provet buyer's guide)

What it is: An AI CoPilot built by a team of 35+ practicing veterinarians that provides ambient scribe, clinical documentation, workflow standardization, and team communication tools. Supports general practice, specialty, large animal, and equine.

Key features: Ambient recording and SOAP generation, context-aware platform that adapts to different specialties, multi-language support (20 languages), team communication tools, enterprise-grade privacy compliance.

What makes it different: The in-house medical team. While most AI scribe companies are engineering-led, CoVet has veterinarians across emergency, specialty, large animal, and general practice shaping every feature. Their recent 12-month collaboration with Colorado State University suggests they're serious about the education market too.

Who it's for: Practices and groups that want a documentation tool built by clinicians who still practice. Particularly strong for multi-specialty and large animal settings where most scribe tools fall short.

What to watch for: Pricing isn't publicly listed — you'll need to contact them for a quote, which makes comparison shopping harder. As they scale across specialties and languages, watch whether the product stays focused or becomes too broad.

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

Dr. Mike Mossop, CoVet's Chief Veterinary Officer, made a prediction I keep thinking about: the biggest AI impact won't come from any single breakthrough feature. It'll come from "compounding incremental progress — smarter models, tighter integrations, and more automation" that gradually make AI feel less like additional software and more like a quiet assistant in the background.

That tracks with what I'm seeing across the industry. The practices getting the most value from AI aren't the ones chasing the flashiest tool. They're the ones that picked something solid 6 months ago and let the compounding effect do its work — better notes each month, faster workflows each quarter, steadily reclaimed hours.

If you're still on the fence about adopting, the cost of waiting isn't dramatic — it's incremental. And it compounds against you.

Pull up the job postings for your practice (or a competitor's). Search for any mention of AI, technology, or modern documentation tools. If there's nothing — that's a gap. New graduates are now being trained on AI scribes at UC Davis, University of Florida, and Colorado State. By 2028, "AI-assisted documentation" in a job posting will signal a modern, forward-thinking practice the same way "digital radiography" does today. Consider adding it now, even if you're early.

That's Issue #4. Every Thursday, I break down one AI development that matters for your practice — no hype, no vendor pitches, just analysis.

If this was useful, forward it to a colleague. The more practitioners thinking critically about these tools, the better decisions we all make.

— Jacob

P.S. If you haven't grabbed it yet, the free 2026 Veterinary AI Tool Map covers 17 tools across 5 categories with real pricing. Download it here: https://clinicshift.beehiiv.com/p/the-2026-veterinary-ai-tool-map

P.P.S. Next week: the hidden costs of AI adoption that nobody talks about — implementation time, workflow disruption, and the real ROI math.