Executive summary
For UK clinicians in 2025, the challenge is not a lack of information, but the time it takes to find a trusted answer. A new generation of AI medical search tools has arrived to solve this problem, moving beyond simple keyword search to provide conversational, citation-first answers at the point of care. The market is dynamic, with major incumbents launching powerful new features—like DynaMed's Dyna AI and UpToDate Expert AI—that are grounded in their vast, curated knowledge bases.
Alongside these, a new guard of innovators is gaining traction. OpenEvidence offers a free-for-HCPs, literature-grounded engine, while a new player, Praktiki, is bundling AI search with micro-CPD. For UK clinicians, UK-centric platforms like iatroX are crucial, offering a free tool that provides answers grounded in UK-accepted guidance and peer-reviewed research, helping to navigate the specific requirements of NHS practice. This guide provides a practical comparison to help you choose the right tool for the right job.
What “good” looks like for clinicians: selection criteria
When evaluating any modern AI clinical search tool, your assessment should be based on these key criteria:
- Provenance: Does the tool provide visible, clickable citations to the guideline pages or peer-reviewed sources it used?
- Corpus clarity: Is it built on a named, gated content set (e.g., the DynaMedex or UpToDate libraries), or is it searching the open web?
- Access model: Is it free, freemium, or enterprise-only? Are there verification requirements? Is it available on mobile?
- UK applicability: Does it align with UK guidance and understand local terminology?
Quick picks by persona & level
- Students/Foundation Doctors: Start with a free, UK-centric tool like iatroX for its blend of cited Q&A and curriculum-mapped adaptive quizzes. Use Trip/AskTrip for high-quality evidence exploration for projects.
- GPs/Primary Care: A combination of a UK-centric tool like iatroX for rapid national guidance checks and Medwise AI for its ability to retrieve local Trust and ICB policies is a powerful pairing.
- Hospital Specialists: For deep dives, an enterprise suite like Dyna AI, ClinicalKey AI, or UpToDate Expert AI (if your Trust has a license) is invaluable.
- Time-poor CPD: The new Praktiki app, which combines micro-learning with AI search, is designed specifically for this use case.
Tool profiles
iatroX (UK-centric, free)
- What it is: A free-for-everyone AI clinical assistant and Knowledge Centre designed around UK practice. It provides citation-first answers from a gated library of UK-accepted guidance and peer-reviewed research, alongside an adaptive quiz engine and CPD logging tools.
- Best for: UK-specific queries across all clinical grades; rapid guideline look-ups and integrated CPD capture.
OpenEvidence (free for verified HCPs)
- What it is: A powerful medical literature Q&A tool that provides answers with clear citations. It is free and unlimited for verified healthcare professionals.
- Best for: Answering deep evidence questions that require a synthesis of the latest peer-reviewed research. Its focus is primarily US-led but it is globally useful.
Dyna AI (EBSCO)
- What it is: A generative AI assistant that provides conversational, RAG-based answers from the trusted DynaMed, DynaMedex, and Dynamic Health databases.
- Best for: Organisations and individuals who are standardised on DynaMedex content and need a fast, citation-first Q&A layer.
ClinicalKey AI (Elsevier)
- What it is: A conversational search layer over Elsevier’s vast library of trusted textbooks and journals.
- Best for: Institutions already embedded in the Elsevier ecosystem.
UpToDate Expert AI (Wolters Kluwer)
- What it is: A new generative AI tool that provides answers grounded exclusively in the comprehensive UpToDate editorial content.
- Best for: Sites with existing UpToDate licenses who are looking to add a conversational AI interface.
Glass Health (Glass AI)
- What it is: An evidence-indexed clinical AI platform with an API, designed for innovators and teams building custom clinical search agents and workflows.
Trip / AskTrip (Trip Database)
- What it is: A long-standing clinical evidence engine, now enhanced with AskTrip, an AI feature that provides referenced answers from Trip’s powerful index of guidelines and systematic reviews.
- Best for: Rapid evidence reconnaissance and hunting down specific guidelines.
Medwise AI (UK, incl. local policy)
- What it is: A UK-centred search tool with the unique capability of retrieving local NHS guidance and policies alongside national sources.
- Best for: Trusts and clinicians who need to navigate both national and local policies in one interface.
Praktiki (new; AI search + micro-CPD)
- What it is: A mobile-first app that combines evidence-based micro-learning for CPD with an AI-powered search function across thousands of guidelines.
- Best for: Busy clinicians who want to build a daily CPD habit and have a quick look-up tool in the same app.
Comparison matrix
| Tool | Corpus/Provenance | UK Specificity | Access Model | Ideal Use-Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iatroX | UK-gated RAG, cited | Excellent | Free for all | UK guideline look-ups, CPD, exam prep |
| OpenEvidence | Global literature, cited | Low | Free (verified HCPs) | Deep evidence questions |
| Dyna AI | DynaMedex, cited | Neutral | Enterprise/Individual | Users of DynaMedex content |
| ClinicalKey AI | Elsevier, cited | Neutral | Enterprise/Trial | Institutions in Elsevier ecosystem |
| UpToDate Expert AI | UpToDate, cited | Good | Enterprise | Sites with UpToDate licenses |
| Glass Health | Literature + drug data | Low | Subscription/API | Innovators building workflows |
| AskTrip | Trip index, cited | Good | Freemium/Pro | Rapid evidence hunting |
| Medwise AI | National + Local UK | Excellent | Enterprise | Trusts needing local policy search |
| Praktiki | "Thousands of guidelines" | Good | Freemium/Paid | 5-minute CPD + quick look-ups |
How to evaluate: a 10-point buyer’s checklist
- Are citations provided in every answer by default?
- Is the knowledge base a named, gated corpus?
- Is the tool applicable to UK practice (NICE/SIGN)?
- Does it have a clear "abstain" behaviour for uncertain queries?
- Is the update cadence and content versioning transparent?
- Does it have good mobile and offline support?
- What is the access model (free vs. enterprise)?
- Is the vendor ready for UK governance (DTAC/NICE)?
- Can you export an audit trail of your queries and citations?
- Does it offer any added educational value (e.g., CPD, quizzes)?
FAQs
- Which tools are genuinely free for a UK clinician to use today?
- iatroX is free for everyone to use, with a UK-centric focus. OpenEvidence is free for verified healthcare professionals.
- Which tools show the origin of their content inline?
- All the major new AI assistants—Dyna AI, ClinicalKey AI, UpToDate Expert AI, OpenEvidence, iatroX, and AskTrip—are built on the principle of providing citations with their answers.
- Which tools are best for UK-specific guidance?
- iatroX is designed from the ground up with a focus on UK-accepted guidance. Medwise AI has a specific feature for retrieving local NHS policies.
- What’s new with Praktiki?
- It has added an AI-powered search function to its core offering of evidence-based micro-learning and CPD tracking.