Before the Phone Rings: How Google and AI Are Shaping Your Consults

By the time a horse owner picks up the phone to call you, the consultation has already started.

In most cases, it started hours, sometimes days earlier, on Google, in a social media community, or increasingly, in an AI chat window.

Recent studies found that around three quarters of horse owners (76%) now search online before contacting their equine veterinarian. They are not just looking for information or deciding if they need to call the vet. They are forming beliefs. About what might be wrong, how urgent it is, what it might cost, and what they think you are likely to say.

By the time they reach you, those assumptions shape the story they tell, the signs they emphasise or downplay, and the level of confidence or anxiety they bring into the conversation.

This is not a criticism of horse owners, and it is not a threat to veterinary expertise. It is a shift in how information is accessed in 2026 and beyond. And it has real consequences for how we gather histories, communicate risk, and build trust in the consult room.

As equine practitioners, we are no longer the first source of information. We are now ‘the first professional interpretation‘ of it.

Understanding what your client has already read, and what they now believe, is becoming just as important as understanding the horse in front of you. Done well, it can make consultations clearer, calmer, and more effective. Done poorly, it can create friction, frustration, and missed information.

This shift explains why some consults feel harder than they used to, even when your clinical skills have not changed.

A few years ago, on three seperate occasions, I euthanised a horse with a septic tendon sheath, three years in a row. Each one was exactly 12 months apart, all in the week leading up to Christmas (different owners each time). Every case was different but they had two thing in common. The first was that the owners had googled their horses injuries, and secondly all were untreated as ‘Google said’ rest and bandaging would fix them. None of the owners had the resources to throw at these cases, and all of the owners felt terrible that they thought they were doing the right thing. It wasn’t until they could no longer bear to see their horses limping that they sought veterinary advice.

Continue to read below as we explore how pre-consult Googling and AI searches are shaping horse owner expectations, how that bias shows up in everyday practice, and how equine veterinarians can respond in ways that strengthen communication rather than undermine it.

What Horse Owners Are Actually Doing When They Search

When a horse owner searches online or uses an AI tool, they are rarely gathering information in a neutral way. They are trying to make sense of uncertainty while still feeling some sense of control over the situation.

Most searches are driven by emotion before logic. Worry, guilt, urgency, or the need for reassurance all influence what gets typed into the search bar and which answers are remembered.

Owners do not read broadly. They skim. They latch onto phrases that feel familiar. They pay attention to outcomes that match what they are hoping for, or what they are most afraid of. Over time, this process creates a narrative that feels coherent to them, even when it is incomplete.

This matters because once that narrative forms, it tends to stick.

By the time an horse owner speaks to you, they are often unconsciously filtering the history they give through that story. Signs that fit their assumption are emphasised. Signs that do not fit may be minimised, forgotten, or dismissed as irrelevant.

For example, a horse owner who has read that a condition is “usually mild” may delay mentioning subtle changes that would otherwise raise concern.

This is not dishonesty. It is normal human behaviour.

AI tools amplify this effect. They sound confident. They respond in complete sentences. They rarely express uncertainty in the way clinicians do. For an anxious owner, that clarity can feel convincing, even when the information is generic or lacks clinical context.

The result is that the history you receive is no longer just an account of what has happened. It is an interpretation of events shaped by what the owner has already read and believed.

Recognising this is not about correcting horse owners. It is about understanding that pre-search assumptions are now part of the clinical picture, whether we acknowledge them or not.

Taking a Better History in the Age of Google and AI

One of the risks of pre-search behaviour is that it changes how histories are presented. Not deliberately, but subtly. As equine clinicians, we have always relied on pattern recognition and careful listening. That still matters. But listening alone is not always enough.

Horse owners are often describing a version of events that has already been shaped by what they have read or been told by an algorithm. If that information is taken at face value, it is easy to anchor to their conclusion rather than uncover the full clinical picture.

This is where the role of the vet shifts slightly. You are no longer just taking a history. You are also working out how that history has been constructed.

A useful mindset is to approach the consult like a detective. Not in a suspicious way, but a curious one. You are trying to understand not only what the horse owner is seeing, but how they have come to interpret it.

Simple questions make a real difference.

Asking whether they have looked anything up before calling is not confrontational. In many cases, it is a relief for horse owners to be asked. Questions such as, “Have you had a chance to look into this already?” or “What made you decide to call today?” help reveal what is driving their concern.

If they have searched, it is helpful to ask where. Was it Google, a social media group, a friend, or an AI tool. Each source tends to shape beliefs differently. Social media often amplifies anecdotal experiences. AI tools tend to offer confident but generalised explanations.

It is also worth asking what stood out to them. What did they read that made sense. What worried them. What reassured them. These answers often explain why certain signs are being emphasised while others are overlooked.

This approach is not about correcting misinformation immediately. It is about mapping the assumptions already in play. Once those assumptions are understood, it becomes much easier to guide the conversation, reframe expectations, and gather a more complete and accurate history.

Importantly, this does not slow consults down. In many cases, it saves time. When assumptions are surfaced early, there is less backtracking later. Fewer misunderstandings. Fewer moments where you realise halfway through the examination that the horse owner and vet are working from very different mental models.

Good history-taking has always involved reading between the lines. In 2026, it also involves understanding what the horse owner has read before they ever spoke to you.

Responding Without Defensiveness or Correction

Once you understand what an horse owner has already read or been told, the next challenge is how you respond to it. This is often the point where a consult either settles or becomes tense.

For many equine veterinarians, the instinct is to correct the information straight away. To explain why what the horse owner has read is wrong, incomplete, or not relevant. While this may be clinically accurate, it can unintentionally close the conversation down.

From the owner’s perspective, they have usually spent time trying to do the right thing. They have searched because they were worried, not because they doubted you. If that effort is dismissed too quickly, it can feel as though their concern is being dismissed as well.

A more effective approach is to acknowledge the process without endorsing the conclusion. Phrases such as, “That’s something a lot of people come across when they look this up,” or “I can see why that would catch your attention,” recognise the horse owner’s experience without validating an incorrect diagnosis.

From there, it becomes easier to bring the focus back to clinical reasoning. You can explain how you think about the problem, which information carries the most weight in this situation, and what still needs to be clarified. This helps reposition you as the guide through uncertainty, rather than someone competing with what the equine owner has already read.

It is also helpful to be explicit about uncertainty. Online articles and AI tools often sound very certain. Clinical work rarely is. Explaining that veterinary decision making involves probabilities, patterns, and context helps horse owners understand why their horse cannot be reduced to a generic description.

Handled this way, pre-search information becomes a starting point rather than an obstacle. It gives you insight into what the equine owner is worried about and allows you to address those concerns directly, rather than working around them.

This approach protects both the relationship and the clinical outcome. It reduces defensiveness on both sides and keeps the conversation collaborative. Most importantly, it allows you to remain in your role as the professional interpreter of information, not just the provider of it.

How Practices Can Shape What Equine Owners Find Before They Call

One of the most effective ways to reduce confusion in the consult room is to influence what equine owners see before they ever pick up the phone. Not by trying to control the internet, but by giving your clients a trusted place to land when they start looking.

When horse owners search, they are rarely looking for cutting-edge research. They are looking for clarity. Plain explanations. Reassurance that their concern is reasonable. And guidance on what matters and what does not.

Best-led equine practices now need to provide clear, accessible information make this easier for everyone.

That information does not need to be complex or constant. Short articles explaining common horse-related issues. Simple videos talking through what you usually look for in a lameness exam or a colic call. Regular newsletters that explain how you think, not just what you do. All of these quietly shape expectations long before a consult begins.

What matters more than format is consistency and tone. Horse wners trust information that sounds like the veterinarian they already know, or want to know. Calm. Measured. Honest about uncertainty. Focused on process rather than promises.

Some equine practices take this a step further by creating their own internal libraries of trusted content. This might be a section of your website where you direct clients for common questions. It could be a private video library hosted on YouTube. It could even be a simple list of resources you regularly refer horse owners to.

Some equine practices already do this well. Hospitals such as Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital publish clear, owner-focused education that explains common conditions, diagnostic thinking, and when veterinary input matters most. This kind of content gives horse owners a trusted place to land before they ever pick up the phone.

In our CE programs, such as The Practitioner’s Program, we do this through an internal search function that allows veterinarians to access more than 200 lectures and resources in one place. The aim is not volume. It is relevance.

Practitioners can search directly for what they need and find expert-led, contextual information without having to rely on Google or AI to fill the gaps.

The same principle applies at the equine practice level. When horse owners know where to find reliable information that reflects how you practise, they are less likely to look elsewhere for answers. It saves time. It reduces misinterpretation. And it builds trust before you ever meet face to face.

This is not about becoming a content creator or running a media business. It is about recognising that education now happens before contact in around three quarters of cases coming through your equine practice, whether you participate in that process or not.

Practices that take even a small amount of ownership over this space often find their consults run more smoothly. Owners arrive better aligned. Conversations feel easier. And clinical decision making becomes clearer, not harder.

Closing Reflections

Google and AI are not replacing equine veterinarians. But they are changing what happens before the phone rings.

In that environment, our value has not diminished. It has shifted. From being the first source of information to being the professional who interprets it, prioritises it, and applies it to the horse in front of us.

Good veterinarians and practices that recognise this shift early are not just protecting their consults. They are strengthening trust, reducing friction, and making their work more sustainable in a changing world.