Google to Launch Fitbit Labs for Fitbit Premium Subscribers

Currently, Fitbit Labs will be available to a limited number of Android users who are enrolled in the Fitbit Labs program in the Fitbit mobile app.

Tech giant Google has announced the upcoming launch of Fitbit Labs, an AI-powered health coaching tool for Fitbit Premium subscribers.

Fitbit Labs is a result of the collaboration between Fitbit, Google Research, and various health and wellness experts, doctors, and certified coaches.

The AI-powered tool is designed to help users gain a deeper understanding of their health data and make informed decisions based on these insights.

Google plans to roll out some experimental AI features later this year as well. Currently, Fitbit Labs will be available to a limited number of Android users who are enrolled in the Fitbit Labs program in the Fitbit mobile app.

The announcement was made at The Checkup 2024 event, where Google Health provided an update on Fitbit Labs.

Offerings from Fitbit Lab

Fitbit Lab will use a new Personal Health Large Language Model (LLM), which will power all AI features across Google’s portfolio.

The new feature will offer a chatbot that can answer questions about users’ health in a natural and conversational manner, the tech giant informed.

Additionally, it will enable users to create charts to better understand their own data.

Reportedly, Fitbit has worked with doctors, sleep coaches, and other professionals to improve the overall accuracy of the Fitbit Labs AI coaching algorithm.

The current version of Fitbit’s premium subscription already provides some feedback based on several parameters including sleep and activity levels.

Fitbit & Google’s Partnership

Founded in 2007 by James Park and Eric Friedman, Fitbit is a global health and wellness technology company that specializes in designing and producing wearable devices and digital platforms to help individuals monitor and manage their personal health and fitness.

In 2021, Fitbit officially became a part of Google. Following this, Google made a series of binding commitments with global regulators, confirming that Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and that this data will be kept separate from other Google ad data.

Moreover, the tech giant affirmed that it will continue to allow Fitbit users to choose to connect to third-party services.

The collaboration between Fitbit and Google predates the acquisition. In fact, as early as 2018, Fitbit and Google had already joined forces to innovate and transform the future of digital health and wearables.

They also explored the development of consumer and enterprise health solutions. Fitbit intended to use Google’s new Cloud Healthcare API to help the company integrate further into the healthcare system, such as by connecting user data with electronic medical records (EMR).

In March, Alphabet Inc.'s Google launched a series of initiatives aimed at deploying its AI models in the healthcare industry. These initiatives include leveraging AI to provide insights from Fitbit wearable devices along with improving cancer and disease screenings in India.

During its annual health event in New York City, Google revealed plans for a new AI feature in collaboration with Fitbit.

This feature, powered by Google's advanced AI model Gemini, analyzes data from Fitbit wristbands to provide personalized health coaching. For instance, it could assess the impact of workouts on sleep quality.