You picked your pet, and instead of a fresh conversation you got a card saying you already have one open. Don't worry — this is expected behaviour and it takes one tap to sort out.
What you're seeing
The card reads Open chat already exists — "You already have an open AI chat with \<your pet's name>. Continue that conversation instead of starting a new one." — with Open Chat and Cancel.
Why this happens
You can only have one open AI chat per pet at a time. If a conversation you started for that pet was never ended, the app steers you back to it rather than starting a second one. (The limit counts your own chats — a chat another family member has open on a shared pet doesn't block you.)
What to check first
- Is this the right pet? The limit is per pet — another pet on your account can still start a new chat.
- Is it actually an AI chat you're thinking of? Having one AI chat and one real vet chat open for the same pet at the same time is allowed. The two don't block each other.
Fix 1 — carry on where you left off
Tap Open Chat. The existing conversation opens and you can keep typing. AI Vet already has the context from earlier, so you don't need to repeat yourself.
Fix 2 — close the old one and start fresh
If the old conversation is about something unrelated:
- Tap Open Chat.
- Tap End in the chat header.
- Confirm with End session on the End chat? card.
- Go back and start a new AI chat for that pet.
Tip: ending a chat also generates its summary, so closing an old conversation is never wasted effort.
If the old chat seems to be gone
Sometimes a conversation is stuck open even though it's no longer usable. That resolves itself: an open chat that's more than 24 hours old, or whose conversation no longer exists, is cleared automatically the next time you try to start a chat. So if you hit this error on a chat you can't find, try again — and if it still blocks you, close the app fully and reopen it.
If you saw a warning first
The message "Couldn't verify existing chats — continuing." means the app couldn't check for open chats before you picked your pet. It lets you carry on, and the one-open-chat rule is still applied when the chat is created — which is why you may then land on this card.
If it still doesn't work
If you're repeatedly blocked on a pet with no visible open chat, contact the Ask A Vet support team with the pet's name [CONFIRM: support contact channel — email address and/or in-app support route].
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