How we train our AI

Our AI feature is grounded in four key sources of information. Together, these help ensure its responses are clinically accurate, relevant to the topic and aligned with the questions learners are answering.

1. NICE Guidelines — Critical Clinical Source

NICE Guidelines are a particularly important source for the AI.

They provide authoritative, evidence-based guidance on clinical practice in the UK and should be used to ground clinical recommendations, management pathways and other guidance-sensitive information.

Where textbook or question content differs from current NICE guidance, this should be identified and handled carefully rather than allowing older educational content to override current clinical guidance.

Purpose: Helps ensure the AI's clinical information reflects current, authoritative UK guidance.

2. Textbook Topic Content

The AI uses the relevant Pastest textbook topic as its core educational context. But it's not just any old content - at Pastest we have many decades of experience in understanding what topics and themes commonly appear in medical exams, so if the AI references it, there's a good chance it will feature in the exam in some way. 

This gives it:

• The clinical knowledge associated with the topic
• Key concepts, terminology and explanations
• The appropriate level and scope of information for the learner

Purpose: Keeps the AI focused on the curriculum and the specific subject being studied.

3. Question Content

We also provide context from our highly accurate question bank, including the questions and associated educational content.

This helps the AI understand:

• What learners are expected to know
• How knowledge is assessed
• Common clinical scenarios and decision points
• The reasoning and learning points associated with questions

Purpose: Connects the AI's support directly to the learning and assessment experience.

In Simple Terms

The AI combines:

NICE Guidelines → What is the current authoritative clinical guidance?
Textbook content → What does the learner need to understand?
Question content → How is that knowledge tested and applied?

Together, these sources allow us to create an AI learning experience that is clinically grounded, curriculum-relevant, assessment-aware and personalised.

Important Principle

The AI should not simply generate answers from general knowledge. Its responses should be grounded in the content and evidence we provide, with current NICE guidance acting as a key clinical authority wherever applicable.