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Microsoft DAX Copilot vs Wai

By the Wai teamAugust 29, 20266 min read

Summary

DAX Copilot, now sold as Microsoft Dragon Copilot, showed no statistically significant change in note-writing time in the only randomised trial of ambient scribes, and lands at roughly $200 to $600 a clinician a month through a reseller. Wai publishes one price for everyone and covers the front desk and the consultation on one record.

DAX Copilot was one of two arms in the only randomised trial of ambient scribes ever run. It showed no statistically significant change in note-writing time against control. Nabla, the other arm, cut it 9.5 percent.

DAX did move the wellbeing scores, which is a real result and we are not going to skip it, though the trial's authors flag those as secondary findings that need confirming. The version tested was current in 2025 and Microsoft has shipped since. DAX Copilot now sells as Microsoft Dragon Copilot.

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Statistically significant change in note-writing time in DAX's arm of the only randomised trial, NEJM AI 2025.
41 sec
What the other arm, Nabla, saved per note in the same trial.
238
Physicians randomised across 14 specialties at UCLA Health.

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DAX Copilot and Wai side by side, read September 22, 2026
QuestionDAX CopilotWai
Randomised effect on note timeNo significant changeNone published
Randomised effect on wellbeingMay have improved, unconfirmed secondary findingNone published
Native Epic and Oracle HealthYes, deepest availableNative, less deep
A briefing before the patient sits downNot offeredYes, built from the chart
ICD-10 coding attached to the decisionYesYes, drafted against MDM
The phone, email and WhatsApp answeredNot offeredYes, same record
Eligibility checked at bookingNot offeredYes
How you buy itUsually a Microsoft resellerDirect, same price for everyone
Published priceNot publishedSee pricing

What DAX is good at

Integration. Microsoft paid $19.7 billion for Nuance and the depth shows, running natively inside Epic, Oracle Health and athenahealth. If you are a Microsoft estate with a reseller relationship, DAX is the path of least resistance and that alone is a legitimate reason to buy it.

Microsoft Dragon Copilot is an AI assistant for clinical workflows. It helps you do more by bringing AI into your daily work.Microsoft Dragon Copilot documentation, read 22 September 2026

What the reseller does to the price

DAX lands between roughly $200 and $600 or more a clinician a month once an implementation fee near $700 and reseller margin are counted, and Microsoft publishes nothing. It is usually sold against your existing licence position, so the quote depends on what else you buy from Microsoft. Two practices can pay very different numbers for the same product.

The trial

UCLA randomised 238 physicians across 14 specialties, roughly 72,000 encounters. DAX showed no statistically significant change in note-writing time. Nabla cut it 9.5 percent. Neither reduced after-hours record time. Both arms showed potential improvement in burnout and task load scores, secondary endpoints the authors say need confirmation in larger trials.

Read the wellbeing result properly rather than as a consolation. Physicians felt better while the measured time did not move, which tells you something about what documentation burden is made of.

The half nobody compares

DAX covers the consultation and is sold to organisations that have somebody else for the rest. If you are a practice, nobody else exists.

The number this comparison misses

Depth of integration and effect on your evening turn out to be different things, and the trial measured both. Your E/M level already turns on Medical Decision Making or time, so the note is the evidence for the code and the code is the money. Up to 19 percent of E/M visits are undercoded at roughly $37 each, and Medicare Advantage downcoding takes $42 to $74 off a visit without ever appearing as a denial.

DAX is bought by organisations with revenue integrity teams who would spot a downcode. The practices buying it through the same reseller have nobody running that report at all.

Price

Microsoft does not publish. The figures here are third-party estimates and may be wrong, particularly since your quote depends on your licence position. We publish on one page, the same number for everyone.

Which one

Take DAX if you are a Microsoft estate with an Epic deployment and a reseller relationship, you want the deepest native Epic and Oracle Health integration available, and procurement through your existing Microsoft agreement matters more than the note.

Take Wai if you want a number without a reseller conversation and a licence audit, if your evening is letters, codes and callbacks rather than notes, and if you want the front desk and the consultation on one record.

What we are not claiming

We were not in that trial. Nabla was, and won. Quoting somebody else's research is not the same as having our own, and we have none. DAX also improved wellbeing under randomisation, which is more than we can currently demonstrate about ourselves.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does DAX Copilot cost?

Microsoft does not publish per-clinician list pricing. Independent reporting places DAX Copilot between roughly $200 and $400 per provider per month, with other sources reporting $369 to $600 or more once implementation fees of around $700 and reseller margin are included, and some legacy enterprise configurations reported higher still. Treat every one of those as an estimate and confirm with Microsoft or your reseller. Wai publishes its price, with a 14 day free trial and no minimum term.

Did DAX Copilot fail its clinical trial?

That is stronger than the evidence supports, and we would not put it that way. In the only randomised trial of ambient scribes published to date, DAX showed no statistically significant change in note-writing time against a control group, while Nabla in the same trial cut it by 9.5 percent. DAX did improve physician wellbeing and task load against control, which the trial also measured. It is one trial, at one site, over two months, on a version that has since been updated. It is also the only randomised evidence that exists.

Is DAX Copilot better than Wai?

At speech recognition in difficult conditions, almost certainly. Nuance spent twenty years on that problem and nobody has caught up. At documentation inside Epic at health-system scale, DAX is a serious and well-supported product. At everything after the note, and for any practice that cannot run an enterprise procurement, we think Wai is the better answer. Wai has no randomised evidence either, and we say so.

What does a reseller add to the DAX Copilot price?

DAX lands between roughly $200 and $600 or more a clinician a month once an implementation fee near $700 and reseller margin are counted, and Microsoft publishes nothing. It is usually sold against your existing licence position, so the quote depends on what else you buy from Microsoft. Two practices can pay very different numbers for the same product.

Who should buy DAX Copilot?

Take DAX if you are a Microsoft estate with an Epic deployment and a reseller relationship, you want the deepest native Epic and Oracle Health integration available, and procurement through your existing Microsoft agreement matters more than the note.

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