Veterinary AI Use Reaches 83.7%, and Practices That Adopt It Strategically Report Six Times the Business Outcomes -- Digitail and AAHA Study

New Digitail and AAHA Veterinary AI Study assesses AI maturity in the veterinary profession and finds that strategy, governance, and workflow design separate the practices seeing business returns from those seeing none

WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Digitail, the AI-native practice management software for veterinary clinics, today released the 2026 Veterinary AI Study, conducted with the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). Based on responses from 1,730 veterinary professionals across the United States and Canada, it evaluates how the profession perceives and applies AI, and tracks what has changed since the first wave in 2024. The research found that AI use in the profession has more than doubled, from 39.2% in 2024 to 83.7% in 2026.

The study also shows that adoption has moved faster than structure. Most practices added AI without changing how they work, and many have no strategy, owner, or governance in place. The practices that did build that structure are pulling ahead: the most mature report six times the business outcomes of the least mature.

"Two years ago, the question was whether veterinary professionals would even try AI. Today it's part of the daily workflow for every role in the practice, so the question has changed: how well is it being put to work, and where do clinics have the most room to grow? That's why we put an AI maturity model at the center of this year's study," said Sebastian Gabor, CEO and co-founder of Digitail. "Practices that take a strategic approach report more time with patients, stronger client retention and more revenue. We want this research to give veterinary teams a clear path to that value in their own clinics."

AI is now an everyday tool

• AI adoption among veterinary professionals reached 83.7%, up from 39.2% in 2024. 88.3% of users engage with it daily or weekly.
• Clinical documentation (AI scribes and SOAP notes) is the most common use, reported by 62.8% of AI users. Most professionals use AI in three or more areas.
• 38.9% of AI users have tried building their own AI agent, and another 29.9% are considering it.
• 79.8% expect AI to be part of most clinic workflows within five years.

Adoption has moved faster than structure

• 65.2% of practices added AI without meaningfully changing their workflows.
• Nearly half have no AI strategy or designated owner, and close to a third have no AI governance.
• The average AI maturity score is 2.67 out of 4. Three in four AI-using practices are at the emerging or established stage: past casual experimentation, but short of deliberate, well-governed use.

Concerns are shifting from jobs to readiness

• Fear of job displacement fell from 37.2% in 2024 to 20% in 2026.
• Concerns about data security and lack of training rose.

Returns scale with AI maturity

• The most mature practices report six times the business outcomes of the least mature.
• The share of practices reporting no measurable impact drops sharply as maturity increases.

"Most surveys tell you how many veterinary professionals are using AI. Digitail wanted to know what separates practices seeing actual results from those seeing none, and what got them there," said Bill Voegeli, President of Association Insights, who led the study in collaboration with the American Animal Hospital Association. "A maturity model is a new lens for this profession, and what it revealed is the clear role of strategy, governance, and workflow design in the value practices report from AI."

Availability

The full white paper is available to download at https://digitail.com/ai-in-veterinary-medicine-survey/. It includes the complete findings, plus discussion and recommendations for clinics from Adam Wysocki, founder of VetSoftwareHub, an independent veterinary software directory, and creator of the PIMS Selection Navigator.

Methodology

The 2026 Digitail and AAHA Veterinary AI Study collected 1,730 self-reported responses from veterinary professionals across roles and practice types in the United States and Canada, fielded July 27 to August 12, 2026. To track change over time, the survey kept core measures from Digitail and AAHA's 2024 study of 4,031 respondents, published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research. The Veterinary AI Maturity Index scores practices from 1 to 4 across six dimensions: strategy and intent, governance and oversight, vendor evaluation, workflow and technology integration, adoption depth, and capability and readiness. It is adapted from the Healthcare AI Governance Readiness Assessment (HAIRA), a peer-reviewed framework from human healthcare introduced by Hussein et al. in npj Digital Medicine (2026).

About Digitail

Digitail is the leading cloud-based, AI-native platform built to run every part of a veterinary clinic, including scheduling and intake, medical records, invoicing, inventory management and client communication. More than 10,000 veterinary professionals use Digitail to see up to 2× more patients per day and get home on time. With 20+ AI Agents, 50+ integrations and a connected Pet Parent App, Digitail saves clinics 50+ hours a month in administrative work. Learn more at digitail.com.

About the American Animal Hospital Association

Since 1933, the American Animal Hospital Association has been the only organization to accredit veterinary hospitals throughout the United States and Canada based on standards directly correlated to high-quality medicine and compassionate care. Accreditation in veterinary medicine is voluntary. The AAHA-accredited logo is the best way to know if a practice has been evaluated by a third party. For more information, visit aaha.org.

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SOURCE Digitail