Nearly 6 in 10 Pet Owners Say AI Has Changed How They Care for Their Pet, and Michiganders Are No Exception
A strange noise from the dog or a picky cat can send you straight to your phone for answers.
A national survey asked pet owners how they use AI chatbots for pet care, so Michiganders can see how their habits compare.
Here’s what the survey found.
Note: This is general information, not veterinary advice. Pet care guidance is subject to change, so talk to your veterinarian about your pet.
Who Ran the Survey
Talker Research, a market research company, surveyed 2,000 pet owners with internet access about AI and their pets from April 22 to 28, 2026.
Darwin’s pet food, a pet food company, commissioned the survey.
In the survey, 43% say they have used AI tools like ChatGPT to get information about their pet’s health or nutrition.
Among owners who use AI tools, the average is seven times per week.
Nearly six in 10 respondents, 59%, say they’ve changed how they care for their pet based on AI recommendations.
These are the things pet owners say they ask AI about, starting with the topic the survey lists first.
1. Nutrition Questions
Nutrition tops what pet owners say they ask AI about, at 55% in the Talker Research survey.
If you’re weighing a new food for your dog or cat, that’s the topic these owners are asking about.
Nutrition, at 33%, is also among the top triggers of second-guessing.
2. Symptoms and Illness
When your pet seems unwell, symptoms or illness is the next topic pet owners say they ask AI about, with 54% in the survey.
Health leads the triggers of second-guessing, at 47%.
3. Pet Care Products
Pet owners in the survey also ask AI about pet care products, at 52%.
If you’re shopping for your pet, that’s the category these owners are describing.
4. Curiosity Questions
Pet owners also use AI for general curiosity about behavior, with 50% sending prompts to feed it.
If your dog’s habits ever make you curious, you’re asking the kind of question this figure covers.
5. Unusual Questions
Nearly half of respondents, 47%, say they’ve turned to AI with unusual or offbeat questions about their pets.
Examples include whether pets can see ghosts.
Another example asks whether dogs know they’re dogs.
If you’ve wondered either about your pet, you’ve asked what these owners asked.
Veterinarians
Even with AI in the mix, owners still name vets as their most trusted source for health and nutrition advice, with 71% saying so in the survey.
Just 14% say they rely primarily on AI tools.
If your vet and an AI tool ever disagree, 64% say they follow their vet, while 12% side with AI.
Meanwhile, 27% trust AI advice as much as human experts.
What Builds Trust in Pet Advice
In the Talker Research survey, professional credentials are the most trusted signal for pet owners, at 57%.
Personal experience follows at 34%, and scientific studies at 31%.
Just 11% say the accuracy of AI-generated responses is a top trust factor.
Feeling Informed and Unsure
AI and online resources leave pet owners feeling more informed, with 90% saying so.
Nearly half of respondents, 50%, admit they at least sometimes feel unsure about their pet care decisions after researching online.
If AI has left you worried about your pet’s health, 30% in the survey say the same.
Five-Year Outlook
In the survey, 52% expect AI to become a normal part of pet care within the next five years.
If you think AI can’t replace a pet owner’s intuition, 89% agree.
Psst! How much do you know about foods that can hurt your pet? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Pet Hazard IQ
Answer these questions on foods that can hurt pets. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which sweetener can cause low blood sugar and potentially liver damage in dogs?
Checking an AI Answer
VCA Animal Hospitals, a veterinary hospital chain, publishes a guide to reliable online sources for pet care information.
The guide names veterinarian-written sites such as the Merck Veterinary Manual and Veterinary Partner.
Accredited veterinary organizations such as the Companion Animal Parasite Council and the American Veterinary Medical Association are on the guide's list too.
Before you trust an article, check when it was last updated.
Veterinary knowledge changes over time.
You can also search the name of a publisher you don't recognize to see whether it is respected in animal health.
Reddit threads and social media posts may share other owners' experiences, but those anecdotes shouldn't take the place of scientific, medical information.
Online Diagnosis Warnings
VCA's guide, last updated February 13, 2026, tells owners not to engage with a diagnosis or treatment plan founded on AI, emails or online chat.
The American Veterinary Medical Association's page on getting pet health information online says your veterinarian is familiar with you, your pet and your pet's unique health needs.
Red flags include a site that tells you that you don't need a prescription for medications your veterinarian says require one.
Another is a site that diagnoses, prescribes medications or tells you how to treat your pet's condition based on information you provide online, through email or over the phone.
Such a site relies on what you type in, which may not be enough information for an accurate assessment of your pet's problem.
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