Google teased a whole host of new tech at the recent Pixel 8 event, not least the upcoming Google Pixel 2 Watch and Fitbit Charge 6.
But it also used the platform to delve into a new line of features that it calls Fitbit Labs, which will likely appear in its app from 2024. The tech uses generative artificial intelligence to make an assessments of your workout performance based on a whole host of health and wellness metrics.
It was revealed that part of this development will see a chatbot added to the Fitbit app that will engage in a conversation to help you better understand why a particular run, swim, cycle or workout was either great, or (most likely, in our case) particularly poor.
There were hints that the technology will be able to debrief users after a session, with the AI chatbot commenting on performance and dishing out stats, such as max heart rate or average pace – and how it compares to previously logged activities.
What’s more, the technology will be able to harness a wealth of health and wellness data gathered from the user, including sleep quality, stress, recovery and the current exercise load. Drawing on this information, the AI chatbot can then look to explain how these factors may be affecting current training and even mood.
Google also revealed that it intends to dive deeper into performance metrics via visualizations within the app, such as charts and graphs. For now, trusted testers will get to try Fitbit Labs features, while it refines its AI offering and launches it to US Fitbit users in 2024.
Analysis: Is Fitbit trying to muscle in on Garmin turf?
Fitbit hasn’t exactly been earning golden stars from its fans, seeing as the recent redesign of its app has gone down like a lead balloon, but news of its AI bot suggests it is aiming to delve deeper into performance metrics – and it looks promising.
Garmin has long offered in-depth analysis of a user’s fitness prowess and since purchasing Firstbeat Analytics, which means the number of metrics it can track and analyze is streets ahead of much of the competition. In fact, only professional coaches arguably have a better handle of an athlete’s performance stats.
The announcement of Fitbit’s AI chatbot feels like it is attempting to offer a solution to Garmin’s Training Readiness and Health Snapshot Features, which essentially takes data from all of its sensors over a set period of time, including Sleep Score, training load, Heart Rate Variability and more, to predict your performance and offer suggestions on the type of workout they should undertake on a particular day.
Where Garmin offers in-depth training tools for those embarking on marathons or Iron Man events, Fitbit could use similar data to encourage wearers to keep plugging away at a more modest goal, or to try a bit harder during their next run.
But rather than (often) confusing data, this could be presented in a chatty, informal way that anyone can understand. That's the idea, at least – we're looking forward to taking it for a spin, despite our misgivings about AI chatbots dishing out fitness advice.
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