HABRI and Chewy Health find 36% of pet parents have used AI for pet care

Of the 2,008 U.S. dog and cat owners the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Chewy Health surveyed, 36% have used AI for pet care and 81% have used AI for something. The two released the Artificial Intelligence and Pet Health Study alongside The Bond Factor II, a guide that helps veterinary teams talk with clients about AI.

HABRI is a not-for-profit that funds research on the health benefits of companion animals. Chewy Health describes itself as pioneering digital solutions that make veterinary professionals' jobs easier. The survey ran 19 minutes online, was fielded May 12 and May 20, 2026, and covered owners aged 18 to 70 who are the primary decision-makers for their pet's care. HABRI said the sample was nationally representative by age and gender.

Pet parents who use AI say vet visits go better

Among AI users who also have a veterinarian, 67% said they felt more informed before a vet visit and 66% said AI increased how well they understood their veterinarian's explanation. Another 62% said their conversations with their veterinarian had become more productive, and 69% said AI had improved their relationship with their veterinarian.

The same group credited AI with their own care. In the study, 80% said it helped them take better care of their pets, 77% said it made them better pet parents and 67% said it strengthened the bond with their pet.

Pet parents use AI for everyday care, for making sense of unfamiliar symptoms, for understanding diagnoses or lab results and for preparing for a visit, according to HABRI and Chewy Health. When they use it to gauge how urgent a situation is, the result can be a quick answer (84%), reassurance and peace of mind (83%) or more confidence in the choices they make for their pets (82%).

Mita Malhotra, president of Chewy Health, put veterinarians at the center of that picture. "What's encouraging is that pet parents who use AI are highly engaged with their veterinarians, using it to better understand their pet's health and feel more prepared and confident along the way," she said. Pet parents rate veterinary teams far higher than AI on personalization, trustworthiness and accuracy of information, and they point to AI's inability to physically examine a pet.

Pet care is already an AI use case for 36%

Most pet parents in the sample have used AI (81%), and 70% are open to using it in relation to pet care. They are 3.7 times as likely to expect to use it more than less in the coming year, with the strongest momentum among younger, more research-oriented pet parents. By our math, about 44% of the pet parents who have used AI have already used it for pet care, which is the 36% divided by the 81%.

The study also found a gap on spending attitudes. 34% of AI users take the view that "money is no object" for their pet's care, compared with 23% of non-users.

Hardware makers are already putting AI in front of owners at home. Our coverage of TRACE reading eating, drinking and litter box activity describes one such platform. PETKIT's own health page says its Kitbo assistant sends weekly trend summaries on eating, drinking and litter box activity and alerts owners to changes in drinking and feeding, using devices that include a litter box with an AI camera. Another example is an AI feeder built on Google Gemini.

Vet teams get a conversation guide to use

Practices are the audience for The Bond Factor II. Chewy Health and HABRI said it offers actionable ways to navigate conversations about AI, guidance on where the technology can be most useful, and ways to strengthen the communication and trust that drive the veterinary-client relationship. Steven Feldman, president of HABRI, said, "HABRI's partnership with Chewy Health allows us to use these important findings to support the veterinary profession and the strengthening of the human-animal bond through communication, understanding and trust."

For clinics, the numbers describe clients who may arrive having already asked AI about symptoms or lab results, at least among the 36% in this sample who use it for pet care. For pet product brands, the 70% who are open to AI for pet care is the group that AI features in feeders, fountains and litter boxes would reach.

The same partners ran an earlier Pet Health Challenges Study of 2,005 owners. In the original Bond Factor guide, 63% of owners said they were willing to adopt more technology to improve their pets' care, and owners were most willing to adopt it for affording (45%), finding (44%) and managing (43%) veterinary care. HABRI's separate benchmark survey of 3,000 U.S. adults, which we covered in October, put pet ownership at 74%.

The full study is available from HABRI on request.

Source: Human Animal Bond Research Institute and Chewy Health via PR Newswire