The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has launched an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant to help pet food and animal feed professionals navigate regulatory requirements such as ingredient definitions, labeling requirements, and safety standards.
of AAFCO Virtual Assistant is built on SWARM Engineering’s AI decision intelligence platform, which the company says is designed for complex and regulated environments. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, the Assistant operates within a controlled regulatory corpus and is designed to limit responses to AAFCO-approved materials.
The platform incorporates a secure search framework, domain-trained inference agents, and structured compliance logic to transform static documents into interactive decision support systems. AAFCO.
“Built on more than 115 years of scientific standards, our organization is taking an AI-driven approach to transforming a complex regulatory environment,” said Executive Director Austin Terrell. AAFCO. “With support from SWARM, industry partners, regulators, and manufacturers around the world can now more efficiently and proactively advance ingredient definitions, labeling requirements, and safety standards to improve the health and well-being of people and animals.”
AAFCO “We have spent more than a century establishing the scientific and regulatory foundations that protect animal health and strengthen the integrity of the food supply chain,” said Shail Khiyara, CEO of SWARM Engineering.
“SWARM’s AVA is built on that foundation,” says Khiyara. “This shows that agent AI can operate responsibly within a managed regulatory framework and base all responses on AAFCO-approved standards. It does not replace expert knowledge; it enhances it and transforms regulatory complexity into confidently defensible decisions at critical moments.”
Virtual assistants are currently AAFCO Digital publishing package. Annual subscription that includes 2026 official publications, pet food labeling guide, animal feed labeling guide, and online database of ingredients. For more information, visit aafco.org.
AAFCO We also recently issued a request for proposals to identify partners to develop AI agents designed to assess animal feed label compliance. AAFCO Model Regulations and Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The proposed tool serves as a compliance support resource for animal feed labels and marketing claims. The RFP submission deadline is March 19, 2026.
