What Is Fitbit Labs?

The use of AI is infiltrating numerous industries, including health and fitness. Fitbit is one of the first companies to capitalize on AI technology for fitness trackers. The Google-owned company is developing something called “Fitbit Labs Hub,” which it expects to open to Fitbit Premium users for testing later this year. Fitbit Premium users will be able to test and provide feedback about the AI fitness coaching to inform them about further developments of the future rollout of Fitbit Labs.

What is Fitbit Labs?

Personalized AI health coaching

So, what is Fitbit Labs Hub? What will Fitbit Labs Hub AI coaching do? Because Fitbit Labs is still under development, there isn’t a wealth of specifics regarding the functions and features that Fitbit Premium users will be able to expect from Fitbit Labs Hub.

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That said, Google provided more information about Fitbit Labs Hub at its recent The Checkup 2024 presentation, including details about the various ways that programs throughout Google’s portfolio are integrating AI. One of the main capabilities of Fitbit Labs is a chatbot that allows users to ask questions about their Fitbit metrics or health in general. Google is training the software to offer informative yet conversational interactions with people to discuss their Fitbit data and answer questions to provide “actionable messages and guidance.”

In addition to written responses, the AI coach will generate charts or graphs based on the questions you ask and your Fitbit data history to help provide visual support for the information you request. Essentially, Fitbit Labs is designed to act as a personal trainer or personal fitness coach that can analyze your Fitbit data in real time and provide answers to your questions as if you were speaking with a human coach.

Fitbit Premium already provides feedback based on your sleep, activity levels, and other health and fitness metrics, but all of this guidance is generalized. Fitbit Labs aims to harness AI to offer individualized support and personalized coaching to better help each unique Fitbit user meet their health and fitness goals.

A Fitbit spokesperson provided the example that her Fitbit might record that she gets the best sleep score (a combination of sleep quantity, quality, and restoration) after a long day of chasing her kids around. Then, after analyzing normal sleep patterns and workout habits, the Fitbit AI coach would be able to provide suggestions and recommendations that would help improve future sleep quality. In this case, the Fitbit large language model might make note that when she is more active (more active zone minutes per day per Fitbit’s tracking system), she gets more deep sleep and total sleep. This is a simplistic example and probably more intuitive than some of the potential insights the AI model may be able to provide.

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How does Fitbit Labs work?

Powered by Google’s Personal Health LLM

Fitbit Labs is powered by a new Personal Health Large Language Model (LLM) from Fitbit and Google Research. This LLM is built on Gemini models and according to Fitbit representatives, is “fine-tuned on a de-identified, diverse set of health signals from high-quality research case studies.” Fitbit has reportedly partnered with doctors, wellness experts, accredited fitness coaches, sleep coaches, and other professionals to conduct various studies about the accuracy and efficacy of the Fitbit Labs AI coaching.

For example, Fitbit disclosed that tests have been conducted comparing the performance of the Fitbit Google LLM against practice tests used for obtaining sleep medicine certifications, noting that the AI fitness coach model is already performing well even though it is still under development.

The Fitbit LLM is part of the same model that will be powering future AI features across all of Google’s apps and functions.

When can I try Fitbit Labs Hub?

Potential Android testing later this year

Fitbit has not provided a date when it will release the AI features. As of now, the company says that Fitbit Labs will be available “later this year” for a “limited number of Android users who are enrolled in the Fitbit Labs program in the Fitbit mobile app.”

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There is no information about when Apple or iPhone users can anticipate testing Fitbit Labs and coaching. However, because Fitbit is part of the Google portfolio, Apple iOS users will likely need to wait longer for the AI features in the Fitbit Apple app.