Near-Term Trajectory: 2026–2029

1. Multimodal AI in Veterinary Diagnostics

In 2026, "multimodal" in veterinary AI means combining multiple test types on one device — not a single AI agent reasoning across imaging, lab results, and clinical history simultaneously. The latter is actively researched but no commercial product ships it today.

Current state of multimodal platforms

Zoetis Vetscan Imagyst is the clearest example: seven AI modules (fecal parasitology, urine sediment, dermatology, blood smear, equine fecal egg count, AI Masses for lymph node and skin lesion cytology, and digital cytology) on one scanner. This is multimodal at the instrument level — the modules share hardware but do not share an inference engine that cross-references results.

IDEXX is building toward integration through its cloud-native PIMS: 1,900+ inVue Dx Cellular Analyzer units placed in Q4 2025 alone, with a 2026 target of 5,500.^[1] The IDEXX cloud PIMS with double-digit installed base growth in Q1 2026 is the eventual integration layer that could tie lab, imaging, and clinical history — but that unified reasoning agent does not yet exist.

Antech (Mars Veterinary Health) uses Azure AI with Mistral models for radiology; the 2025 Science Impact Report confirms broader clinical AI research is accelerating, mostly in research-to-product rather than shipped features.^[2]

An IEEE multimodal veterinary AI review (2026) documents active research on unified cross-modal diagnostic agents, but concludes no commercial product is shipping.^[3] A realistic first-generation commercial cross-modal agent (imaging + labs + history → unified differential) is a 2027–2028 window, contingent on foundation model development pace.

2. Voice-First Clinical Interfaces

AI scribes that transcribe passively are fully arrived. The next wave — AI the veterinarian actively interrogates during an exam ("what's the differential for these CBC results given this history?") — is beginning now in prototype form and is realistically 2027–2028 for GP-grade deployment.

Clearest current signals

CoVet's "clinical copilot" framing is the most explicit commercial positioning: the system listens, transcribes, and surfaces diagnostic suggestions alongside documentation in real time. CoVet reported 550% user growth in 2025 and won the 2026 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize. Twenty-plus languages, six continents.

Instinct Science's acquisition of ScribbleVet (January 2026) and its announced roadmap — embedding Plumb's Veterinary Drugs into the ambient recording flow — is the clearest near-term example of AI moving from passive transcription to active clinical reference: the system can flag dosing, interactions, and species-specific contraindications during note generation.^[4]

Vet-AI's Joii (UK) is building toward persistent pet health memory across sessions using Google Cloud's Vertex AI Agent Engine Memory Bank — enabling reasoning across an animal's full care history in context, not just the current encounter.^[5]

Voice AI is also moving into front-desk functions: ezyVet's AVA integration and DaySmart Vet's Daisy Voice handle AI-powered appointment booking, prescription refill, and client triage — not clinical reasoning, but meaningful workflow reduction.

3. PIMS-Native AI (Moving Fast, Confirmed Announcements)

The most concrete near-term category. Every major PIMS vendor has launched or announced native AI features in 2025–2026.

• Vetspire (May 2025): AI Scribe (voice-to-SOAP on iPhone/iPad), AI Summary (3-year history), PDF Summary (referral parsing), Edit with AI. Roadmap covers intake, scheduling, diagnostics, and client communication.^[6]
• Provet Cloud (August 2025): native Patient History Summary, AI Scribe, and AI Discharge Instructions — globally available September 2, 2025. ISO 27001:2022 certified. Seven languages.
• ezyVet: AI-Assisted Notes in 2026 pilot; AVA client-facing AI appointment/refill handling launched 2025.
• Instinct Science / ScribbleVet: intelligence-native PIMS ambition; building AI scribing, workflow, and clinical intelligence as a single architecture.
• IDEXX Cornerstone (legacy server-based): no native AI. Cornerstone customers are being transitioned to cloud-native IDEXX PIMS, which is the planned AI vehicle.

4. Animal Behavior Analysis from Video

Honest assessment: meaningful for livestock, less mature for companion animal clinical deployment. Most companion animal video AI in 2026 is consumer-facing or in dataset-building phase.

Livestock (deployed)

PediVue (UK/Europe): commercial cattle lameness detection from camera feeds, winner of the 2025 Royal Dairy Innovation Award. Clinical-grade, operationally deployed. IntelliPig: facial recognition, emotion detection, and body condition scoring for pig welfare monitoring, deployed 2023–2026.

Companion animal (research to pilot)

Vet-AI's Joii team is collecting labeled videos and images (100,000+ images, 400,000+ video consultations) to train canine lameness detection. No productization announcement yet. Ekico/Tendiboots Canine (France) combines wearable plus AI for canine gait analysis — trained on hundreds of gait analyses with fifteen veterinarians, claiming approximately 80% lameness detection accuracy — in limited European release.^[7] A 2026 Nature Scientific Reports paper compared deep learning video models against trained veterinarians for cattle pain assessment and found AI performance comparable or better in some conditions; companion animal pain scales (grimace scales) are being explored for AI automation but no commercial product exists for this in companion animals.

Realistic deployment window: companion animal clinical video AI (lameness, pain, anxiety) is a 2027–2028 category for early products and 2028–2029 for meaningful clinical adoption.

5. Genomics + AI

Embark Veterinary screens 230,000+ genetic markers and 270+ health conditions, built in partnership with Cornell CVM. The clinical-to-genomics integration loop (Embark results flowing into a vet's clinical decision-making) exists for individual motivated practitioners but is not yet systematized into PIMS workflows.^[8]

Mars Petcare's Biobank (4,500+ enrolled pets, 10-year commitment) has already yielded one commercial-level discovery: a SLAMF1 variant linked to canine atopic dermatitis, with a DNA test in development. Mars's clinical trial network (Banfield + VCA, thousands of locations) is uniquely positioned to close the gap between genomic discovery and clinical deployment. Integrated pilot programs within Banfield/VCA networks are realistic in the 2027–2028 window.

Honest gap: the distance between a consumer DNA test result (Embark, Wisdom Panel) and an EHR-integrated clinical recommendation engine remains large. No commercial product bridges this as of 2026.

6. Wearables + AI for Chronic Disease Monitoring

PetPace V3.0, launched September 2025, is the only wearable with genuine clinical-grade integration and vet-facing data sharing in 2026. It monitors temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, activity, posture, GPS, and a patented pain index, plus epilepsy episode monitoring (beta). The V3.0 includes direct vet data-sharing during clinic visits — making it more than a consumer gadget.^[9] Used in 100+ veterinary schools for research.

Whistle (GPS + health monitoring, $8.25+/month) and FitBark (lightweight activity tracking, 150+ country database) are primarily owner-facing with limited clinical integration. The critical gap for chronic disease management (heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes): continuous biomarker data — creatinine, BUN, glucose trends, cardiac troponin — cannot be measured by any wearable in 2026. This requires miniaturized biosensor advances. Realistic window for clinically actionable wearable biomarkers: 2027–2029 at optimistic pace.

7. AI in Veterinary Education and Training

The most concretely documented near-term category, with named institutions and confirmed adoption dates.

• Cornell University CVM: VetRec partnership (September 2024) for unlimited student/faculty/house officer access; hosted SAVY 2.0 (Symposium on AI in Vet Medicine) May 2025; building VETNET as a benchmarking ecosystem for vet AI analogous to MedQA in human medicine.^[10]
• UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine: ScribbleVet adopted November 2025 across teaching hospital and classrooms; faculty task force evaluating through early 2026. Second vet school to adopt ScribbleVet.
• Colorado State University: CoVet 12-month evaluation across students, interns, faculty, and house officers; designated clinical champions.
• Texas A&M: VetRec adoption for AI assistant program.^[11]
• University of Florida CVM: First vet school to adopt ScribbleVet (March 2025).

Pattern: vet school adoptions are happening quickly, primarily evaluating AI scribes for both clinical efficiency and curriculum integration — teaching students to work with AI documentation from day one. The next wave (2027–2028) is likely simulation-based clinical training using AI virtual patients and interactive differentials, though no vet school has formally announced this.

Realistic Deployment Window Summary