Epic rolls out AI Charting tool: Looks Oddly Familiar to DAX

Epic’s announcement of the new AI Charting tool last week is the latest in their continued efforts to provide built‑in AI capabilities. The charting tool brings real-time ambient listening and automated note drafting directly into the EHR. The tool captures the patient conversation with the provider, drafts visit notes, suggests orders, and even allows clinicians to shape the structure of their documentation using voice commands. It fits nicely into Epic’s broader AI offerings like, ART, which already includes tools like Insights for chart summarization, Penny for revenue cycle automation, and Emmie for patient‑facing support.

Having worked at Nuance, and been a part of product development, I can’t help but point out that the concept is not new. Nuance/Microsoft’s Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) has offered ambient clinical documentation for years and is already widely deployed across many Epic health systems. No doubt, many consultants supported many installs and/or workflow support and training. DAX also listens during visits, generates structured clinical notes, and increasingly supports order suggestions and workflow shortcuts. In many organizations, it has become the de facto standard for reducing documentation burden, long before Epic’s new solution entered the market.

I am thinking from a marketing perspective, and maybe costs, the key difference is where each tool lives. DAX is a Microsoft/Nuance product that integrates deeply with Epic, while AI Charting is built natively inside the EHR. That native positioning gives Epic the ability to embed ambient documentation into its broader AI strategy and potentially streamline deployment and support. At the same time, DAX benefits from years of real‑world use, clinician familiarity, and Microsoft’s ongoing investment in large‑scale clinical AI.

This will be interesting to watch and see what happens. Health systems will now be weighing the maturity and proven performance of DAX against the appeal of a fully native Epic solution. The next phase of adoption will likely hinge on clinician experience, cost models, and how each tool fits into a health system’s long‑term AI roadmap .

As always, especially if you supported a DAX install, would love to hear your feedback.

Here is Epic’s News Release:

Epic AI Charting Rolls Out Alongside an Expanding Set of Built-in AI Capabilities | Epic