Fusion Narrate vs. Solventum Fluency Direct & Fluency Align: 2026 Comparison
Real-time medical speech-to-text and ambient clinical documentation, compared on packaging, workflow automation, application coverage, language support, customer feedback, and pricing.
Healthcare organizations need documentation tools that can support both real-time dictation and ambient note creation. Dolbey’s Fusion Narrate and Solventum’s Fluency Direct are both products designed to address clinicians’ real-time speech-to-text needs; Fusion Narrate ACI and Fluency Align address ambient documentation. Dolbey offers a choice: license Fusion Narrate ACI on its own or bundle it with Fusion Narrate. Solventum states that every Fluency Align experience includes Fluency Direct. For organizations working across multiple applications, the comparison is about more than generating a note; it is about choosing the right workflow, automation, and licensing model.
Fusion Narrate vs. Fluency Direct: Real-Time Speech Recognition
Functionality varies by deployment, specialty, EHR, and license configuration. Dolbey makes evaluation easy with a free 14-day self-serve Fusion Narrate trial on its website.
| Capability | Fusion Narrate | Solventum Fluency Direct |
|---|---|---|
| Product structure | Cloud-based front-end speech-to-text with no-code shortcuts and cross-application automation. | Cloud-hosted speech recognition solution for creating, reviewing, editing, and signing notes in the EHR. |
| EHR and application compatibility | Application-agnostic. Tested with 100+ applications, including EHRs, LIS, RIS/PACS, and browser/desktop tools. Cursor-based; not limited to a named EHR list. | Integrates with 250+ EHRs, with deep API integration into clinical and productivity applications. |
| Deployment | Cloud-hosted; one profile follows the clinician across devices; lightweight client installation. | Cloud-hosted; one profile across devices and applications. |
| Voice commands and automation | Shortcut Builder, Vision Click, and Quick Keys connect multi-step actions across applications; CAPD provides real-time documentation feedback. | Speech-enabled navigation and commands within supported applications; built-in CAPD. |
| Generative AI / document tools | AI Assist summarizes, transforms, checks, translates, or generates content; Text Extract pulls text from scanned documents. | AI-assisted formatting, summarization, document translation, and clinical understanding. |
| Free trial | 14-day self-serve trial, no credit card required, on Dolbey’s website. | No self-serve trial listed on the U.S. product page; contact Solventum to discuss evaluation options. |
| Independent customer feedback (KLAS 2025) | 92.4 overall score in the 2025 Speech Recognition: Front-End EHR category; reported as a component solution rather than in the ranked group. | 83.9 overall score in the same 2025 category; a ranked solution. |
| Support | Direct access to Dolbey’s U.S.-based support team for most customers. Reseller customers receive first-line reseller support, backed by Dolbey. | Enterprise support through a centralized portal and partner channels. |
| Pricing | $890/user/year MSRP; subscriptions start at one year. Enterprise and health-system pricing quoted directly. | Solventum does not publish US pricing directly; publicly available reseller pricing generally requires a minimum 3-year license commitment. |
Fusion Narrate ACI vs. Fluency Align: Ambient Documentation
Both products capture patient conversations and generate draft notes for clinician review. The purchasing paths diverge: Fusion Narrate ACI can be licensed on its own. Fluency Align cannot. Solventum bundles Fluency Direct into every Fluency Align experience, so ambient-only buyers still pay for front-end dictation they may not need.
| Capability | Fusion Narrate ACI | Solventum Fluency Align |
|---|---|---|
| Product structure | Captures multi-party encounters, generates a transcript, and drafts a report for clinician review. | Uses conversational, ambient, and generative AI to turn patient encounters into structured clinical notes. |
| Recording options | iOS or Android Fusion Narrate Recorder mobile app or desktop client. | Mobile recording app or Solventum Ambient Device; no publicly documented Windows desktop recording app. |
| Language support and English reports | Captures patient conversations in 75 languages and translates them into an English-language draft report for clinician review. | Solventum’s Fluency Align materials do not document support for generating English-language transcripts and draft reports from foreign-language encounters. |
| Note generation and personalization | Generates a transcript and a report in the clinician’s configured format; report sections can be shortened or expanded before EHR transfer. | Generates structured notes tailored to clinician preferences, with AI-assisted organization for review and approval. |
| Review and source transparency | Evidence Mapping links report content to the relevant transcript passage for source-aware review. | Supports clinician review, editing, and approval. U.S. product materials do not describe report-to-transcript evidence links. |
| EHR workflow and transfer | Quick Transfer places text at the cursor; one license can be used to route transcripts and reports across multiple EHRs and locations across an enterprise. | EHR-integrated note delivery; published virtual-assistant features include chart lookup and conversational order entry, depending on configuration. |
| Trial | Free Fusion Narrate ACI trial available. Request information through Dolbey’s website. | Fluency Align product page offers a trial request form. |
| Packaging | Standalone ambient documentation licensing or a bundle with Fusion Narrate real-time speech-to-text, supporting phased adoption. | Includes Fluency Direct in every Fluency Align experience; U.S. materials do not list an ambient-only option. |
| Ambient documentation on your terms
Fusion Narrate ACI offers ambient documentation without a separate speech-to-text purchase. Start with ambient alone, keep your existing dictation tool, or bundle both with Fusion Narrate. Solventum offers no equivalent: Fluency Align always includes Fluency Direct. Dolbey lets organizations buy only what they need. |
What Both Product Families Do Well
Both product families support real-time speech-to-text, ambient note creation, and clinician review. The meaningful differences are how each fits the organization’s applications, purchasing preferences, language needs, and review process. Key areas of differentiation include Dolbey’s licensing flexibility, cross-application automation, and transcript-linked review.
Where Fusion Narrate + ACI Stand Apart
Application flexibility beyond the primary EHR
Fusion Narrate’s cursor-based approach is tested with 100+ applications, including EHRs, LIS, RIS/PACS, browsers, and desktop tools. Clinicians can dictate where they work rather than build every workflow around a single integration. Solventum also supports broad clinical-system integration. Dolbey’s strength is combining application flexibility with configurable automation across those workflows.
Multilingual encounters, English-language reports
Fusion Narrate ACI captures conversations in 75 languages and produces English-language draft reports, giving organizations serving multilingual communities another reason to consider Dolbey. This capability addresses the encounter itself, not just translation of an already-written note. Clinicians review the draft before finalization.
Ambient review and workflow control
Fusion Narrate ACI displays the transcript alongside the draft report and uses Evidence Mapping to link report content to its source passage. That gives clinicians an efficient, direct way to check the basis for generated documentation. Multiple transfer options connect review to the EHR workflow, which can include multiple EHRs within a single enterprise.
Workflow automation across applications
An accurate transcript or ambient note does not eliminate the clicks around documentation. Fusion Narrate’s no-code Shortcut Builder, patented Vision Click, and Quick Keys can connect multi-step actions across applications, with shortcuts managed at the individual, group, or enterprise level. Solventum offers voice commands and EHR-focused automation. For organizations seeking to streamline the surrounding workflow, Dolbey’s cross-application automation provides an additional point of differentiation.
Licensing, Cost, and Deployment Considerations
Dolbey publishes Fusion Narrate at $890 per user per year MSRP, with subscriptions starting at one year. Fusion Narrate ACI is available standalone or bundled, with volume discounts and enterprise pricing quoted directly. Solventum’s U.S. pricing is quote-based, and Fluency Align always includes Fluency Direct. Our licensing options give buyers a way to align the purchase with actual workflow needs. Compare the complete proposal for either vendor, including licenses, AI features, onboarding, configuration, support, devices, and contract term commitments.
Questions Every Buyer Should Ask
- Can I try both the direct-dictation and ambient workflows before I buy?
- Can I buy ambient documentation on its own, or is it only sold bundled with speech-to-text?
- Which of my actual applications — not just my primary EHR — does the platform support today?
- Which encounter languages are supported, and can non-English conversations become English-language reports?
- How are ambient notes reviewed: transcript access, source mapping, editing, and approval?
- What workflow automation is included beyond speech recognition and note generation?
- What is the total cost — licensing, ambient documentation, onboarding, configuration, support, and devices?
- Is a long-term license commitment required?
See how these differences work in practice: ask Dolbey to demonstrate at-cursor dictation, cross-application automation, and a complete Fusion Narrate ACI encounter, including Evidence Mapping, clinician review, and EHR transfer.
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