PAI 2025 year in review: Pioneering education support for physiotherapists

In 2025, the Physiopedia AI Assistant (PAI) was used by 10,000 healthcare professionals across 159 countries, facilitating over 54,000 conversations. This year marked PAI’s evolution from a helpful tool into a trusted companion for physiotherapists worldwide, demonstrating how thoughtfully designed AI specific for our profession can enhance  professional education.

2025 has certainly been the year of the Physiopedia AI Assistant! We call it PAI (pronounced “pie”) and this year it has rapidly become one of the most popular tools from Physiopedia. This specialist physiotherapy AI assistant has been used by more than 10,000 healthcare professionals across a geographic spread of 159 countries in 2025, reflecting its truly global impact and illustrating how AI-supported clinical education resonates across diverse healthcare systems, practice settings and cultural contexts. From well-resourced hospitals in developed nations to under-resourced clinics in developing regions, PAI is providing consistent, secure and evidence-based educational experiences grounded in Physiopedia’s trusted content.

There have been 54,195 conversations this year with PAI supporting healthcare professionals to excel with their clinical, academic, research and leadership practice. We’ve seen use of PAI increase over the year showing a growing confidence that practitioners have in AI-supported learning. Some use it for quick clarifications, others for complex discussions, and many return to it regularly as a trusted learning companion.

This is the year we first introduced PAI tasks, initially a guided tool for writing SOAP notes that has now expanded into a suite of educational tools to develop skills and save valuable time. PAI can now support you in learning how to effectively conduct and create:

• Clinical Documentation (SOAP Note)
• Diagnostic and Treatment Codes
• Discharge Report
• Letter of Medical Necessity
• Patient Education Guide
• Referral Letter
• SMART Goal Setting

These features don’t replace clinical judgment, they provide the just-in-time educational scaffolding to assist practitioners in their daily work.

This was also the year we started incorporating PAI into our Physiopedia Plus courses with PAI supported learning activities and knowledge checks, the first physiotherapy online learning platform to do so. The PAI activities integrated into Plus courses represent perhaps the most innovative development. These 10-15 minute interactive sessions guide learners through realistic clinical scenarios using socratic dialogue, clinical simulations and complex case-based reasoning. Whether working through ethical dilemmas, practising communication strategies, recognising red flags, or developing differential diagnoses, these activities bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

PAI knowledge checks are also available in every Plus course. These aren’t typical multiple-choice assessments but dynamic, interactive evaluations that challenge understanding and encourage deeper thinking. Four carefully crafted questions with adaptive follow-up create a personalised learning experience, with immediate feedback and additional practice opportunities ensuring concepts truly stick.

And finally, we’re mid-way through the PAI roadshow! We are 2 events into this virtual roadshow touring different timezones to discuss AI in physiotherapy and showcase PAI – we’d love to have you join our next online event in the timezone that suits you best, or even in person at CSM in LA in February.

🇺🇸 New York – 8 January, 12:00 EST | Register
🇫🇷 Paris – 15 January, 14:00 CET | Register
🇧🇷 Rio – 22 January, 14:00 BRT | Register
🇦🇺 Sydney – 29 January, 18:00 AEDT | Register
🇺🇸 Los Angeles – 12-14 February (CSM Conference – in person)

Register for online events here.

We’ve loved hearing the innovative and useful ways people are finding to use PAI, whether that’s for exploring complex clinical topics, accessing PAI on the go through the Plus app or using it in different languages. A key message we’ve been hearing this year is that people value above all else that PAI is reliable and trustworthy. It’s built by physiotherapists for physiotherapists, it exclusively uses the quality evidence-based Physiopedia knowledge base to return profession specific answers to your questions and we’ve designed it from the outset to protect your data and your privacy. This is something we hold very close to everything we do, putting you as the clinician in control.

As Professor Michael Rowe tells us AI isn’t coming to physiotherapy – it’s already here, and the choices we make now will shape our profession’s future and we are here to support you every step of the way!

There are two ways you can access PAI.

1. Through Physiopedia Plus: All Full and Pro Plus members already have access to unlimited conversations with PAI, just login to Plus to get started. Trial Plus users get 1 week’s free access to give it a go.
2. At pai.physio-pedia.com: PAI now has its own dedicated platform. Register for a Free Plan to try PAI with limited daily interactions or subscribe to the Advanced Plan for regular use.

As 2025 closes, PAI stands as proof that AI, thoughtfully designed, can genuinely enhance clinical education and learning. For the 10,000 healthcare professionals using PAI it has become more than a tool; it’s a trusted companion in the rewarding, challenging work of rehabilitation practice, education and research. PAI doesn’t make decisions; it supports learners and professionals. It doesn’t replace expertise; it extends access to evidence-based knowledge. And with knowledge checks, and interactive activities now woven throughout the learning experience, PAI proves that AI can elevate professional education in ways that truly matter.