A Smarter Way to Study

Why We've Made This Change
Meet the new Sidebar
Learn with Trusted Clinical Guidance
More Than Just Search
Insights and Sessions Have Moved
Built Around How You Study

Over the past few months, we've made a number of improvements across Pastest to create a faster, more modern and more effective revision experience. From the redesigned Qbank and Past Papers to Offline Mode and our updated mobile experience, we've been steadily building towards something much bigger.

Our new update brings those improvements together.

We've introduced a brand new AI-powered sidebar that makes it easier than ever to find information, get answers and navigate your revision resources—all without leaving the page you're working on.

We've purposely held off from incorporating AI into the resource so far, taking time to assess how it was being included on other platforms and researching what we felt would work best for our users.

This is likely to be the last major layout update for a while. Our focus will shift from redesigning the experience to continually improving the content, expanding AI capabilities and refining the features you've told us matter most. 

Why We've Made This Change

One piece of feedback has come up consistently from our users:

"I know the information exists somewhere... I just can't always find it quickly."

Whether you're looking for a textbook topic, need some specific performance data, or wanting a quick explanation before answering a question, finding the right content wasn't always as seamless as it could be.

Rather than simply adding another search box, we wanted to rethink how you interact with your revision resources altogether.

The result is our new sidebar.

Instead of forcing you to know where information lives, you can simply ask.

Meet the New Sidebar

The new sidebar* is available throughout the platform (written exams only, for now) and acts as your personal revision assistant.

You can ask natural questions such as:

• What are the causes of atrial fibrillation?
• Explain nephrotic syndrome.
• How do I differentiate Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis?
• What are my weakest specialties?

Instead of searching for just keywords, AI understands what you're asking and brings together the most relevant information from across your revision resources.

Because it sits alongside your study session, you never need to leave your question or textbook page to find what you're looking for.

*Please note, for the time being the new sidebar is a web-only feature - it will be available on mobile devices in the coming months.

Learn with Trusted Clinical Guidance

One of the biggest advantages of the sidebar is that it doesn't just give you an answer—it helps you understand why.

Whenever relevant, AI responses include direct links to the appropriate NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines, enabling you to:

• Read the official clinical guidance behind recommendations.
• Explore topics in greater depth beyond the exam syllabus.
• Verify treatment pathways and management recommendations.
• Build confidence that you're revising using trusted, evidence-based resources.

Whether you're revising hypertension, asthma, diabetes, acute coronary syndromes or countless other conditions, you can move from a concise explanation straight to the full NICE guidance in a single click.

Top tip: If you're unsure why a management option is recommended, ask a follow-up question and then open the linked NICE guideline to see how the recommendation fits into current UK clinical practice.

More Than Just Search

The new sidebar isn't just designed to find content.

It can also help you:

• Explain difficult concepts in simple language
• Break down complex clinical scenarios
• Compare similar conditions and diagnoses
• Test your understanding with follow-up questions
• Summarise key revision points
• Provide direct links to relevant NICE guidelines so you can explore the underlying evidence and current UK clinical recommendations

Think of it as having an intelligent study companion available whenever you need one.

Insights and Sessions Have Moved

As part of this update we've also reorganised some navigation to make the experience simpler.

You'll now find:

• Insights
• Sessions

These are now inside the new sidebar instead of the top navigation.

This gives you a consistent place to access everything related to your learning while keeping the main interface focused on studying.

Nothing has been removed and the Qbank and Past Papers all function in exactly the same way—it's simply easier to access alongside the sidebar.

Built Around How You Study

This update represents months of design, testing and user feedback.

Our goal wasn't simply to add AI because it's new.

We wanted to solve a genuine problem: helping you find the right information at exactly the moment you need it.

The new experience has been designed to work naturally alongside the textbook, Qbank and Past Papers, helping you move seamlessly between learning, practising and reviewing without breaking your flow.

What's Next?

Although this is our last major interface update for the foreseeable future, it certainly isn't the end of development.

We'll continue to:

• Improve sidebar responses and search accuracy
• Expand the content the sidebar can reference
• Introduce new study capabilities
• Refine the experience based on your feedback
• Continue investing in the highest-quality revision content

As always, your feedback plays a huge part in shaping what comes next.

Thank you to everyone who has shared suggestions, reported issues and helped us improve Pastest.

We can't wait for you to try the new sidebar!