Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Fitbit users can soon upload medical records to Fitbit.
- Its AI health coach reviews these records to generate responses.
- Google also unveiled other Fitbit feature upgrades.
The era of the AI-powered health coach is in full swing, and now, it’s moving into medical territory. Google is one of the latest tech companies leading this AI-powered charge. On Tuesday, it announced updates to Fitbit’s personal health coach that will further integrate medical data with AI.
Fitbit users will soon be able to connect their medical records to the Fitbit app for the personal health coach’s review. The AI-powered health coach can contextualize and use this data in response to health questions. The data includes lab results, medications, and visit history, according to a press release from Google, Fitbit’s owner.
Other smaller wearable health technology companies have offered similar features through their own apps. This includes the fitness band company Whoop, which lets you upload records to the app and then use the Whoop AI to ask it questions.
“When your coach understands your medical history, its guidance becomes safer, more relevant and more personalized,” Google said in a press release.
The feature comes at a time when more people are turning to AI for guidance on everything from task management to health regimens. Eight in 10 US adults go online to look up health information, and over two-thirds of Americans find the information reliable. Meanwhile, some medical professionals worry that this over-reliance on AI for health information could lead patients to self-diagnosis or incorrect treatment.
Also: Asking AI for medical advice? There’s a right and wrong way, one doctor explains
Google said that by connecting medical data to Fitbit, the personal health coach’s responses and advice are more personalized to the user. If a user is curious about the implications of a recent lab test, they can now query the AI for help. And when a Fitbit user asks the personal health coach how to improve their cholesterol, the AI can use the medical data and lifestyle patterns (such as sleep, diet, and activity) recorded on Fitbit for helpful responses and advice.
When a conversation goes too far into medical territory, Google said that the AI coach will remind users to consult with a healthcare professional for medical needs. In other words, it’s not going to give medical advice, diagnose, or offer a treatment plan.
The feature will arrive next month.
Perhaps you’re reading this news and scratching your head, worrying about the privacy implications of connecting your health records to a consumer wearable device owned by Google. Google said that medical records are securely stored within Fitbit, and users will have control over their use. Google didn’t specify whether that data will be stored on-device or within Fitbit’s servers.
Also: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all have new AI healthcare tools – here’s how they work
Florence Thng, Google’s Health Intelligence product management director, said in the press release that users’ medical records, like other health data in Fitbit, are not used for ads.
Chatbots have a tendency to hallucinate or make up information, and this could pose a risk to Fitbit users asking the coach for questions or advice about their health. Google acknowledged large language models’ limitations in an email with ZDNET. It said it is committed to improvement and evaluation.
“We acknowledge that Large Language Models can have limitations, including potential inaccuracies and hallucination. To address this, we invest heavily in a validation process to enhance the quality of our models. This involves ongoing evaluations and the use of advanced architectures that rely on tools and self-critique to improve reliability and reduce the chance of inaccurate responses,” a Google spokesperson said in an email.
Google is bringing another health device to its ecosystem for Fitbit users to try out. Starting next month in public preview, users will be able to connect a continuous glucose monitor to Fitbit and query the health AI for insights into their blood sugar trends after a meal or workout.
Also: Are AI health coach subscriptions a scam? My verdict after testing Fitbit’s for a month
The company also announced an increase in its sleep staging accuracy, which will soon roll out to public preview users. These sleep staging models can better predict differences between naps, interruptions, and sleep stage transitions. The new sleep stage feature will roll out in public preview over the next few days.
