Best fit: Health systems already on Dragon Medical One or the Microsoft stack, and organizations wanting dictation, ambient AI, nursing, and radiology under one vendor.
Poor fit: Independent clinicians, and behavioral health teams that require short retention or no use of de-identified data for model improvement.
Overview
Dragon Copilot is Microsoft's clinical AI assistant, announced March 3, 2025, combining Nuance Dragon Medical One dictation with DAX Copilot ambient listening and generative AI. Microsoft acquired Nuance in 2022. Dragon Copilot became generally available in the US on May 1, 2025 and in Canada on June 1, 2025, with the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands following. At launch Microsoft said DAX had assisted over 3 million ambient conversations across 600 healthcare organizations in a single month. It is sold through Microsoft and certified partners to organizations, with role-based experiences for physicians, nurses, and radiologists.
Pricing
Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor) for the Physician Per User license. Physician Flex: per-user dictation license plus pay-as-you-go AI-Assisted Sessions at 25 consumption units ($0.25) each, with 10 sessions per license per month included (Microsoft licensing guidance) Not verified
Free tier or trial: No free plan; organizational licensing only
Source: Microsoft Dragon Copilot product page, checked 2026-10-12.
EHR integration depth
Dragon Copilot embeds in Epic (including Haiku and Rover mobile), and Microsoft lists athenahealth and MEDITECH on its health solutions pages. Integration scope varies by EHR and deployment.
Listed integrations: Epic (embedded, including Haiku and Rover), plus athenahealth and MEDITECH listed on Microsoft's health solutions pages; other EHRs via integration
Note quality
Not yet independently tested ClinicalAIWeekly has not run hands-on clinical testing of Dragon Copilot. Any accuracy figures you see in vendor marketing are vendor-reported. Test with your own templates and simulated visits during a trial or pilot before relying on it.
Specialty suitability
Templates: Specialty-specific, customizable notes across ambulatory, inpatient, and ED; nursing flowsheets; radiology reporting
Dragon Copilot's 90-day retention and its use of de-identified data for model improvement are central questions for behavioral health. Organizations should confirm how sensitive encounters are handled, whether ambient capture can be disabled for specific visit types, and how Part 2 records are segregated. Microsoft's documentation addresses HIPAA but does not publicly describe 42 CFR Part 2 specific controls: Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor).
Security and privacy
- BAA: HIPAA commitments are in the Microsoft Products and Services DPA and Product Terms; confirm BAA coverage in your enterprise agreement Documentation reviewed
- Certifications: SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, C5, NEN 7510; ISO/IEC 27001 and 27701 listed as certification pending in the FAQ. Microsoft cloud also lists HITRUST and others. Vendor-reported
- Data location: Microsoft cloud as a Core Online Service, per Microsoft's data location terms Documentation reviewed
- Retention: Audio, recognized text, transcripts, and flowsheet values retained up to 90 days; deletion via Microsoft Purview lifecycle management; customer data deleted when the contract expires Documentation reviewed
- Model training: Customer data is de-identified or anonymized before use for model improvement; not used to train general LLMs Vendor-reported
Workflow and UX
For most clinicians Dragon Copilot shows up inside their EHR (often Epic) or as a desktop and mobile app tied to the organization's Dragon admin center. You start an ambient session or dictate, the draft note lands in the EHR for review, and you can ask questions of the transcript and trusted references. Because it unifies Dragon dictation and ambient AI, clinicians who already dictate can keep doing so in the same tool. Administration, licensing, and retention are managed centrally by IT.
Clinicians can switch between dictation and ambient capture in one tool, ask questions of the transcript, and review drafts in the EHR. Administration happens in the Dragon admin center.
Full fact table
| Feature | Dragon Copilot |
|---|---|
| Note quality and accuracy | Not yet independently tested by ClinicalAIWeekly Not yet independently tested |
| Pricing tiers (exact, as published) | Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor) for the Physician Per User license. Physician Flex: per-user dictation license plus pay-as-you-go AI-Assisted Sessions at 25 consumption units ($0.25) each, with 10 sessions per license per month included (Microsoft licensing guidance) Not verified |
| Free tier / trial | No free plan; organizational licensing only Documentation reviewed |
| EHR integrations | Epic (embedded, including Haiku and Rover), plus athenahealth and MEDITECH listed on Microsoft's health solutions pages; other EHRs via integration Vendor-reported |
| Specialties and templates | Specialty-specific, customizable notes across ambulatory, inpatient, and ED; nursing flowsheets; radiology reporting Vendor-reported |
| Languages | Microsoft Learn release notes cite multilingual capture (including mixed English and Spanish in Epic mobile); output in English Vendor-reported |
| Platforms | Desktop, web, iOS (17+), Android (13+), and embedded in Epic mobile apps Documentation reviewed |
| In-person, telehealth, offline | In-person and on-demand recording; telehealth support per deployment. Offline recording: Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor) Vendor-reported |
| Note styles (SOAP/DAP/BIRP) | Specialty templates and customizable sections; named DAP/BIRP: Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor) Vendor-reported |
| Editing and customization | Customizable notes, voice editing with Dragon dictation, activity timeline for verification Vendor-reported |
| Coding and billing help | Coding suggestions listed as a feature Vendor-reported |
| Patient instructions and letters | Referral letters and after-visit summaries Vendor-reported |
| Data retention and deletion | Audio, recognized text, transcripts, and flowsheet values retained up to 90 days; deletion via Microsoft Purview lifecycle management; customer data deleted when the contract expires Documentation reviewed |
| HIPAA BAA (and which plan) | HIPAA commitments are in the Microsoft Products and Services DPA and Product Terms; confirm BAA coverage in your enterprise agreement Documentation reviewed |
| SOC 2 / ISO / HITRUST | SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, C5, NEN 7510; ISO/IEC 27001 and 27701 listed as certification pending in the FAQ. Microsoft cloud also lists HITRUST and others. Vendor-reported |
| Where data is stored | Microsoft cloud as a Core Online Service, per Microsoft's data location terms Documentation reviewed |
| Data used for model training? | Customer data is de-identified or anonymized before use for model improvement; not used to train general LLMs Vendor-reported |
| Consent features | Transparency documentation requires patient consent per organization policy before recording Documentation reviewed |
| Support | Microsoft and certified partner support Vendor-reported |
| Contract terms | Enterprise licensing via Microsoft or partners; Flex requires a linked Azure subscription Documentation reviewed |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Unified dictation and ambient AI from one vendor
- Broad platform support including Epic-embedded mobile
- Large set of Microsoft compliance attestations
- Nurse and radiology workflows for system-wide rollouts
- Official consumption pricing for Flex sessions
Cons
- No individual plan; enterprise licensing only
- Per User license price not published
- Up to 90-day data retention
- De-identified data used for model improvement
- Setup requires IT and Azure administration
Alternatives
- Abridge review
- Heidi Health review
- Nabla review
- Abridge vs DAX Copilot (Dragon Copilot)
- Heidi Health vs DAX Copilot (Dragon Copilot)
- Best AI scribe for psychiatry
What we could not verify
- Pricing tiers (exact, as published): Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor)
- In-person, telehealth, offline: Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor)
- Note styles (SOAP/DAP/BIRP): Not publicly disclosed (ask vendor)
- Note accuracy and clinical safety: not yet independently tested.
Methodology
Facts come from Dragon Copilot's official pricing, security, trust, legal, and help pages, checked 2026-10-12, with news sources used only for company background. Safety and BAA availability are treated as eligibility gates, not scores. No hands-on clinical testing has been done. Read the full methodology and editorial policy.
Bottom line
Dragon Copilot is the natural choice for Microsoft and Dragon shops, with official consumption pricing for Flex. Review the 90-day retention and model-improvement terms carefully for behavioral health.
Evaluating Dragon Copilot in a demo? Use the free vendor evaluation scorecard (printable, PDF) to compare up to 3 vendors.
Sources and last checked
- Microsoft Dragon Copilot product page (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dragon Copilot licensing guidance (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dragon Copilot data FAQ (retention, certifications) (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dragon Copilot privacy white paper (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dragon Copilot security white paper (checked 2026-10-12)
- Dragon Copilot announcement (checked 2026-10-12)