AI Technology Seen as a New Textbook, Not a Replacement for Veterinarians, Says Vet Involved in Development
Maria Jones, a veterinarian contributing to the development of an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to assist clinical decision making, has emphasized that AI should be regarded as a new form of textbook rather than a substitute for clinicians.
Jones is part of the team behind Vetlexicon +AI, a chat interface trained exclusively on Vetlexicon’s comprehensive database containing 28,000 pieces of clinical content alongside peer-reviewed research. The AI tool is designed to offer veterinarians immediate access to reliable answers, drawing on insights contributed by over 1,600 veterinary experts.
“This is definitely not a replacement for vets; it’s just another tool,” Jones remarked. “Would a textbook replace a vet? Of course it can’t. This is just the new textbook.” She highlighted that no technology acts as a diagnostic tool on its own, but rather serves as a support instrument, and that the clinical judgment and adaptability of a veterinarian to individual patients remain essential. “You’ve always got to have that ability to adapt the information you’ve got to the exact patient in front of you and AI can’t do that. That’s always going to be human based.”
Jones further explained the collaborative role of AI within veterinary care, describing a “three-way partnership” involving vet, client, and patient, with AI adding a new dimension to this team. She stated that the tool enhances workflow efficiency, assists clinicians in staying updated with the latest medical advances, and delivers information that is current and highly reliable.
Currently available in public beta, Vetlexicon +AI is scheduled to fully launch this month. At present, it provides detailed information on cats, dogs, and rabbits, with plans to expand coverage to other species such as horses, cattle, reptiles, and birds.
Andrew Balerdi, head of technology at Vetstream—the company developing Vetlexicon +AI—explained that the platform has been created under “stringent protocols” to prevent the AI from generating inaccurate or off-topic information. “It’s just trained on veterinary information and will only retrieve veterinary information,” he assured.
The AI is also designed to integrate smoothly into typical veterinary workflows, recognizing common abbreviations and structuring responses in formats familiar to clinicians, including table layouts and the SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, plan) system.
Robert Moss, Vetstream’s chief operating officer, emphasized that supporting frontline veterinary care has been central to the product’s design. “We’re getting really high scores on clinical reliability, clinical excellence, speed and the gold standard of: ‘would you recommend this to one of your colleagues?’ That’s all coming back very positively,” he said, describing Vetlexicon +AI as “the next step in the innovation milestone” for the company.
As veterinary medicine continues to embrace digital innovations, tools like Vetlexicon +AI are positioned to become valuable aids that complement, but do not replace, the critical expertise of veterinary professionals.
