On October 20, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will launch a new Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) Program to test the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in conducting pre-examination prior art searches for certain utility patent applications. Under the program[1], the USPTO will use an internal AI system to analyze an application’s Cooperative Patent Classification data, specification, and claims to identify and rank potentially relevant prior art.