How We’re Using AI to Help Pet Owners Avoid Unnecessary Vet Visits

If you’re a pet owner, you’ve probably felt it already; vet fees are rising, fast. Between 2016 and 2023, veterinary costs increased by 63%, which in turn puts real pressure on people who just want to do the right thing for their pets.

Most owners aren’t trying to avoid the vet altogether. They just want reassurance. They want to know whether something needs urgent treatment, a routine appointment, or can be safely managed at home.

And that’s exactly the gap we’re trying to close.

We’ve partnered with Joii Pet Care to offer an AI-supported triage service, available as an optional add-on to every Waggel policy, either when you purchase or when your policy is due for renewal. It gives our customers 24/7 access to an intelligent Symptom Checker, live chat, and real-time video consultations with qualified vets from around the UK.

Since launching the service, the results have been striking. Around 80% of customers who use triage don’t go on to make a claim within 30 days, suggesting that many concerns can be resolved without a trip to the vet. That means less stress for pets, fewer unexpected bills for owners, and reassurance when it matters most. A sigh of relief for all.

When a pet owner starts a consultation on the Joii platform, they’re guided to share details about their pet’s symptoms and, where relevant, upload photos or videos.

From there, the AI Vet Assistant asks follow-up questions to build a clearer picture of what’s going on. The system has been clinically trained on a large dataset drawn from over 430,000 consultations, four million Symptom Checker responses, and more than 100,000 labelled images and videos.

Once enough information is gathered, the service recommends one of four clear next steps:

• Contacting an emergency vet
• Booking a routine in-practice appointment
• Speaking to an online vet through the platform
• Managing the issue safely at home

Crucially, this guidance is developed and monitored by vets, so pet owners aren’t left making decisions alone.

In 2025 alone, more than 28,000 of our customers used the triage service. That potentially saved over 22,000 unnecessary vet visits. On average, customers were able to speak to a vet within just seven minutes of joining the queue.

The most common reasons people reached out included gastroenteritis, vomiting, dietary issues, dermatitis, diarrhoea, skin disorders, pain, abscesses, and conjunctivitis - concerns that are worrying, but not always urgent.

Since the 1st of January 2025, more than 75% of new Waggel policies have included our optional triage add-on. Today, over 67,000 customers have access to the service, and we’re seeing a 90.4% customer satisfaction rating, which tells us it’s delivering genuine value to owners and pets.

As our Chief Product Officer, Hannah Simpson, puts it:

“Most people don’t want to avoid the vet; they just want to know if they actually need to go. The triage service gives them that reassurance, and in many cases, it turns out the issue can be managed safely at home, which is better for the pet and avoids an unnecessary bill.”

At Waggel, we see this as part of a wider shift in pet insurance. It’s not about paying out when something goes wrong - it’s about actively supporting pet health day to day, giving owners confidence, clarity, and peace of mind when they need it most, something we’ve built our platform on and will always continue to do.