Vet surveys show fast tech adoption amid ongoing staffing strain

Veterinary practices are adopting digital tools faster than many expected, even as staffing strain remains stubbornly hard to solve. New 2026 surveys from Instinct Science found that 91% of general practices changed or adopted at least one new technology in the past year, 48% now use AI in some form, and nearly three-quarters of AI users say it has improved efficiency. At the same time, emergency, specialty, and urgent care teams still identified staffing shortages as their top challenge, cited by 85% of respondents, while client financial limitations emerged as another major pressure point. The surveys also suggest workplace expectations are shifting: fewer than 10% of general practices still use a traditional full-time fixed schedule, while 40% offer part-time roles and 25% have moved to a four-day work week. (streetinsider.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the headline isn't just that AI is arriving, it's that it's being adopted in a workforce environment still defined by retention pressure, workload imbalance, and cost-sensitive clients. Instinct's data suggest practices are using technology less as a novelty and more as an operational tool, especially for documentation, diagnostics, and workflow support. That fits with broader industry data from AVMA showing most practices already use core digital systems such as PIMS, while AAHA previously reported that nearly 40% of veterinary professionals were already using AI tools in 2024. In other words, AI adoption is moving into a more practical phase, but it isn't replacing the need for staffing stability, training, and careful implementation. (instinct.vet)

What to watch: Expect more scrutiny on which tools actually reduce documentation burden and error rates, and whether those gains translate into better retention and more sustainable scheduling over the rest of 2026. (streetinsider.com)