You've sent a message and nothing is coming back. Don't worry — this is usually easy to fix, and in most cases the chat sorts itself out within a couple of minutes.
First, what's normal
Answers stream in gradually rather than appearing all at once, and while AI Vet works, a small pill above the message box shows what it's doing:
| Pill | What it means |
|---|---|
| Thinking… | Writing your answer |
| Checking… | Reading your pet's details, a photo, a PDF, a spreadsheet or an audio clip |
| Saving the file… | Filing a video or document into your pet's documents |
Reading a long PDF or transcribing audio genuinely takes longer than answering a typed question, so give those a moment.
What to check first
- Are you online? AI Chat is a live feature and needs a working connection. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data if you're on a weak signal.
- Did you send another message while it was still writing? Messages sent mid-answer are ignored. Wait for the current answer to finish, then send yours again.
- Has it been more than two minutes? It shouldn't be. See below.
Step-by-step fixes
- Use the Stop button. While an answer is being written, the send button becomes a Stop button. Tap it, then send your message again. What was written so far is kept, with "[Generation stopped]" on the end.
- Leave the chat and come back. Go back to the AI Chats list and reopen the conversation — the assistant reconnects every time you open the screen. This clears most stuck states.
- Close and reopen the app, then open the chat again.
- Start a new AI chat. End the current one (End → End session) and start a fresh conversation for the same pet.
Messages you might see
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| "Sorry — I had trouble responding just now. Please try again." | The answer failed or stalled and was closed off. Just send your message again. A reply that stalls or runs longer than about two minutes is always ended this way, so a chat never sits on Thinking… forever. |
| Upgrade to Premium when you reopen a chat | Your Premium plan has lapsed. See the article below. |
| "AI chat no longer available" | The conversation itself is gone; start a new one. |
Please note: AI Chat sends no push notifications. If you leave the screen, come back and reopen the chat to read the answer — nothing will alert you.
If it still doesn't work
If a specific pet's chats never reply, even after a fresh start, contact the Ask A Vet support team with the pet's name and roughly when it happened [CONFIRM: support contact channel — email address and/or in-app support route].
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