Fitbit will soon get health-focused artificial intelligence (AI) features, Google said during its annual The Check Up event on Tuesday. Instead of adding features for specific tasks within certain workflows of the platform, Google Research will work with Fitbit to create a personal health-centric large language model (LLM). The LLM will be powered by the tech giant's most powerful foundation model, Gemini. Further, Premium users will be able to test out the experimental AI features before they are made available to the public.
In a blog post, Yossi Matias, Vice President, Engineering and Research at Google, said, “Fitbit and Google Research are working together to build a Personal Health Large Language Model that can power personalized health and wellness features in the Fitbit mobile app, helping people get even more insights and recommendations from the data from their Fitbit and Pixel devices.” The AI model is under testing and is being fine-tuned to optimise its performance. Google did not share a timeline for the release of the features.
Explaining the kind of features users can expect, Matias said that the Gemini-backed LLM for Fitbit will be able to deliver personalised coaching and share actionable messages and guidance. To provide these insights, the AI will access user data available within Google accounts and Google-branded wearable devices. Giving an example of one such feature, he said, “This model may be able to analyse variations in your sleep patterns and sleep quality, and then suggest recommendations on how you might change the intensity of your workout based on those insights.”
Delving deeper, the blog post revealed that the under-development Gemini-based AI model is being trained on a de-identified, diverse set of health signals from high-quality research case studies. Google is collecting the studies and their data in partnership with accredited coaches and wellness experts.
Premium Fitbit users will also have an option to try out the features before they are released publicly. This will be done through Fitbit Labs, which was announced last year. Fitbit Labs will be similar to Google's AI Labs where users can register to experience and test features while it is being fine-tuned.
