Published by Paperback Software, VP-Expert was designed to facilitate the creation of rule-based expert systems, primarily for applications in business and industry.

[3] VP-Expert quickly gained market share in the expert system development tool sector, particularly in academic and small to medium-sized business environments.

By 1990, it had become the best-selling expert system shell, with 120,000 copies sold worldwide[4] and site licenses at DuPont, Kodak, and the Wharton School of Business.

VP-Expert emerged during a period of significant activity surrounding artificial intelligence, particularly expert systems.

It offered a user-friendly interface and a rule-based approach that was intuitive for many users, particularly those with a background in business or logic.