Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers

Veterinary assistants do a wide range of hands-on tasks – feeding and examining animals, helping with exams and X-rays, and recording notes (feeding schedules, behavior, etc.) ^{[1] [1]}. Right now, most of these jobs still need people. AI tools in veterinary care today mainly support imaging and office work.

For example, researchers note that AI for medical imaging (like reading X-rays or scans) in pets “is starting to happen” but is still emerging ^[2]. Industry surveys confirm this: AI is mostly used for things like analyzing radiographs and automating paperwork (scheduling, voice-to-text notes, client communication), not for the physical parts of the job ^{[3] [2]}. In short, assistants may use software to help check lab results or convert speech to text for records, but tasks like holding a cat for surgery or giving emergency first aid remain firmly in human hands. (We found no examples of robots restraining or bandaging animals in typical clinics.)

Vet clinics tend to adopt new tech cautiously. Many are small, and assistants’ wages are relatively low, so buying expensive AI robots or systems is a big investment. On the positive side, a 2024 survey found about 39% of veterinary professionals already use at least some AI tool in their clinic ^[3], and about 38% plan to introduce AI soon ^[3].

Most of those tools are in non-surgical areas (like imaging or admin work), and users report daily time-savings. However, the survey also showed common worries about AI reliability and data privacy ^[3]. In practice, animal owners and staff usually trust a skilled person more than a computer for hands-on care.

Because of that, AI is likely to enter this field slowly and as an assistant, not a replacement. Experts emphasize that AI should “augment” vet teams – speeding up information or paperwork – while the human assistants continue providing the compassion and judgment animals need ^{[2] [3]}.