How Zoetis Turns Broad AI Adoption Into Business Value

At Zoetis, broad access to artificial intelligence has been accompanied by a requirement to demonstrate what significant investments deliver. The animal health company, which generated approximately $9.5 billion in revenue in 2025, is applying AI to research, customer service and everyday employee work. Keith Sarbaugh, its executive vice president and chief digital and technology officer, sees adoption and financial accountability as complementary responsibilities.

Keith joined as CIO in 2023 and subsequently assumed a broader mandate spanning technology, digital, AI, data and cybersecurity, alongside global customer experience. He connects investment decisions with the needs of veterinary professionals, animal producers and pet owners. “My job is less about running the IT machine,” he explained, “and it’s more about making sure we’re making the right investments in tech, digital, and data to enable business outcomes.”

Defining Value Before Investing

Zoetis uses a business value realization framework for material technology investments. Before work begins, technology leaders collaborate with business and finance partners to define the expected benefit, its potential impact on the profit and loss statement and how it will be measured. Checkpoints during implementation allow teams to adjust direction, followed by an examination of actual usage after deployment.

“We use it not just to measure the value, but to optimize the solution and continue to drive incremental value once we’re live,” Keith said. The approach also creates room to acknowledge failure. Some initiatives have been substantially scaled back, and he favors getting solutions into use so teams can evaluate them, improve them or retreat when necessary.

Making AI Accessible Across the Company

Connecting AI to Animal Care and Customer Experience

Building Adoption Through Early Involvement