In a world full of subscriptions, it’s reasonable to question which ones truly deliver value. At PCS.ai, ongoing updates focus on steady, tangible improvements that add up to a better simulation experience over time.
To Our Users: Here’s how your PCS.ai service evolved in 2025.
In 2025, our engineering and QA teams delivered continuous, user-driven improvements across the PCS.ai platform, focused on improving realism, reliability, and day-to-day usability in simulation.
With platform updates released roughly every two weeks, the year was defined by steady progress rather than isolated launches. These updates included significant performance and stability improvements, expanded language support, and a full transition to our next-generation assessment system.
1. Next-Generation AI/Assessment
A major focus in 2025 was the rollout of AI/Assessment 2.0, designed to improve the accuracy, consistency, and usefulness of communication feedback.
To achieve this, Assessment 2.0 evaluates communication after the session is complete, rather than in real time. This intentional shift trades live progress indicators for more reliable results and clearer post-session insights.
We also redesigned credit authoring to support this new assessment model. A new multi-tab layout allows authors to choose between Classic Credit (traditional, event-based criteria) and AI Credit (criteria based on what was said during the encounter), offering greater flexibility in how communication is evaluated.
AI/Assessment 2.0 was gradually introduced throughout the year and, by November, was fully published across all bundled patients. Existing assignments continue to function as expected, while new assignments can take advantage of the updated assessment capabilities.
2. Lifelike Patient Immersion
Throughout 2025, we continued to invest in making patient encounters feel more natural and clinically believable.
In January, at IMSH 2026 we introduced AI/Voices, a new generation of patient voices that sound less scripted and more human—intentionally conveying emotion such as fatigue, breathlessness, frustration, or distress. Voice effects including coughs, sighs, and gasps were also re-tuned to better align with patient conditions and vocal tone.
AI/Voices Availability
AI/Voices is offered as an optional, one-time upgrade for programs seeking the highest level of vocal realism and emotional nuance. Core voice improvements remain included with your PCS.ai subscription. To learn more, contact help@pcs.ai.
In parallel, we rolled out condition-specific animations across multiple patient avatars, including updates for shortness of breath/chest pain, abdominal pain, and lethargy. These enhancements bring visual cues into closer alignment with patient presentation.
We also expanded Physical Exam (PX) capabilities, introducing clickable PX inspection items (such as auscultation and palpation) and redesigned smart buttons to improve navigation and usability during exams.
3. Performance and Stability
Improving platform performance and reliability – particularly in resource-intensive environments – was a consistent focus throughout the year.
We implemented Progressive Loading across clinic and bundled hospital environments, significantly reducing load times and improving session startup performance. Faster embed loading was also introduced to support smoother entry into simulations.
Audio reliability received targeted attention. Microphone behavior was corrected to prevent unintended conversation interruptions, and fixes were deployed to address issues where quiet speech was being clipped at the end of user talk. Text-to-speech and transcription scaling were also improved to reduce lag during high-volume audio processing.
Together, these updates resulted in more stable sessions and fewer technical disruptions during learner encounters.
4. Usability and Authoring Efficiency
Last year, we also made a series of updates aimed at reducing setup time and improving everyday workflows for educators, simulation staff, and content authors.
TeamSpace was enabled on 2025 (and later) SimVox service levels, supporting easier sharing and collaboration.
Patient Concept Copy/Paste is now available to all users, streamlining content reuse and iteration.
We also introduced AI Enhance for Patient Concepts, which provides automated suggestions to help authors avoid common content creation issues.
For assessment flexibility, Customizable Communication Feedback Instructions allow users to define their own qualitative evaluation criteria.
Additional usability improvements included customizable Door Notes tab titles and refinements across patient files and navigation elements.
5. Language and Global Access
Expanding access for global and multilingual learners was another key priority in 2025.
We added support for Norwegian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Romanian, Dutch, Greek, Thai, and expanded Chinese language options. Existing translations were also updated to improve accuracy, reduce pronoun mismatches, and better reflect natural speech patterns.
These updates help ensure a more inclusive and consistent experience for learners across regions and languages.
The work completed in 2025 sets the stage for what’s ahead. As we move into 2026, our focus remains on building thoughtfully – refining core workflows, expanding access, and continuing to improve the realism and reliability of simulation experiences. This progress reflects an ongoing partnership with our users, and we look forward to evolving the PCS.ai platform alongside your programs in the year ahead