Epic and Market Trends in Health IT & AI

Epic entered the ambient AI market by announcing several solutions at its annual company meeting.

WHAT: Epic announced several AI-related efforts at the company’s annual Users Group Meeting (UGM). The dominant health record system unveiled generative AI solutions, AI models for its research database, Cosmos, and plans for an AI charting tool. Industry reactions included both excitement about Epic’s new EHR AI agents’ ability to reduce clinician burnout and concerns about the announcements’ impact on the competitive landscape. Several AI-focused startups acknowledged that Epic’s market position could eliminate smaller competitors who lack comparable training datasets and platform integration.

IN BRIEF: Epic showcases new products, partnerships, and sets the company’s roadmap at its annual UGM. This year, Epic outlined an ambitious AI strategy, with its CEO stating the company is working on more than 160 AI projects. The company introduced new generative AI tools integrated directly into provider workflows, expanded its Cosmos data platform capabilities, and announced plans to integrate ambient scribes that reduce clinician burden and compete with leading health tech companies. These announcements position Epic to consolidate its market influence while directly competing with specialized AI startups and ambient documentation vendors across the healthcare technology landscape.

WHEN: Epic held its annual Users Group Meeting from August 18 – 21, 2025, in Wisconsin. The company expects to release some tools, such as MyChart Central and Toolbox integrations, by end of year, while others will move into pilot programs before coming available in 2026.

• Epic expanded its AI footprint by directly integrating agents and copilots into existing provider workflows. New tools branded as “healthcare intelligence” are targeted to help clinicians, revenue cycle teams, and patient navigators. “Art” is the name of Epic’s clinical copilot, which is designed to combine ambient documentation, visit preparation, real-time decision support, and clinical workflows into a single integrated tool. Notably, it will connect with Cosmos, Epic’s database of more than 16B patient encounters to power diagnostic insights and connect patients with similar conditions.
  • Epic’s ambient documentation strategy includes a Microsoft partnership. The company announced its AI scribe functionality will be powered by Microsoft Nuance/Dragon and positioned it at a significantly lower price than other vendors. While there are still details to be clarified how this partnership will work, many are viewing this as another step in the longtime partnership between the two organizations.
• Epic’s announcements align with federal priorities regarding streamlined patient access and interoperability efforts. The EHR company announced plans to centralize patient logins and unify fragmented payer technologies to streamline data exchange.
  • Epic simplified patient access with the launch of MyChart Central. Using a single Epic ID, patients will be able to access their medical records with one log-in, foregoing a password and using biometric information if desired.
• Epic’s new strategy increases competition across the health technology industry. Ambient AI startups like Ambience, Abridge, and Nabla are now anticipating direct platform competition with Epic’s ambient scribe and charting tool. Clinical copilot vendors such as Navina and RhythmX AI risk displacement by Epic’s “Art” system, while revenue cycle management companies like Waystar face pressure as Epic builds directly into its core platform. The expansion of Cosmos as foundational data infrastructure also challenges real-world data companies such as Atropos.

So many media outlets and experts reported on Epic’s announcements, that we are including them here for your convenience:

Newsweek, CNBC, Forbes, Fierce Healthcare, Healthcare IT News, Health Data Management, STAT, AI in Healthcare, HealthExec, Brendan Keeler, Anwar Jebran, Graham Walker, Julie McGuire, Shane Waxler, Tom Richards.