Gone are the days of nutritionists and personal trainers. Now, all you need is a wearable wellness device.
While the likes of Oura and Whoop have been using machine learning since their inception to track and compile user data, device makers are now tapping into the technology to offer personalized recommendations and coaching based on insights over time. It’s early days for this coaching technology, but experts predict that these chat features will become the norm for wearable devices.
Oura and Whoop both offer a chat feature where users can ask an AI-powered chat coach any questions, like “What workout should I do today?” “When should I go to sleep?” “What time should I wake up?” and more. Based on the user’s insights, also compiled and assessed via machine learning, the chatbot will provide advice.
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“It’s really a doctor on your wrist,” said Andrew Csicsila, partner and managing director at AlixPartners.
According to experts, this has been the missing component for wearables, as users often question “Now what?” after being given mass amounts of data daily.
“It’s difficult to take all the data that your body can create and turn it into insights that are useful enough to drive behavioral change,” said David Wagner, founder and managing partner of Wildwood Ventures, a venture studio and investor focused on outdoor and wellness companies. “That is the secret.”
Wearable brand Whoop was one of the earliest players in the space when it launched Whoop Coach, powered by OpenAI, last September. Since launch, the company has seen consumers use it for both early onboarding reasons — learning what certain metrics are or where to find some features — and daily questions around fitness, nutrition, recovery and specific use cases, like avoiding jet lag. Additionally, the feature answered that “Now what?” question Whoop users had.
“There are some people who get intimidated by wearables because there’s so much data,” said Emily Capodilupo, senior vice president of research, algorithms and data at Whoop. “We got the feedback prior to Coach: ‘I just want someone to tell me what to do.’”
Concurrently, Oura, which has now sold more than 2.5 million rings and has tripled its member base in the last three years, rolled out Oura Advisor via its in-app testing platform Oura Labs this July. The coaching capability is still in the testing phase but has received promising feedback, per the team.
“Up to now, it’s really been a one-way channel where we can deliver all these insights to you,” said Jason Russell, vice president of consumer software product at Oura, explaining this new feature opens a two-way dialogue with the user. “It uses AI for personalized insights, for recommendations, also just encouragement, and learns what are your health goals, and encourages you in ways that help you meet those health goals.”
While this new feature personalizes each user’s experience, Oura has taken it a step further, allowing each customer to customize how intense the AI coach is when asking questions and giving advice.
“People respond differently to different coaching styles,” Russell said, noting that people can request a harsh approach or a gentler, compassionate one.
As these AI features offer more personalized experiences, they also make the products and education more accessible, as the chat features can often speak more languages than the brand is able to communicate in via its website and marketing. In addition, they give the brands an idea of what features to fix or launch next.
“If they’re not using this data to learn, to build, think through the next product, the innovation, then they’re missing out,” said Csicsila.
Evie, a tracking ring developed specifically for women, is also tapping into AI. While it hasn’t employed chatbot coaching where users can ask questions, it does share targeted insights. According to the company, Evie will be relaunching this month with more specific AI-generated advice.
“The value of AI is its ability to find multiple patterns quickly and offer suggestions to keep positive momentum going and eliminate the behaviors that aren’t serving them,” said Tyla Bucher, chief marketing officer of Movano Health, the maker of the Evie ring.
Samsung has also recently introduced a beta version of Galaxy AI, which includes personalized coaching and chat capabilities, to some watch users. Google, which uses AI for tracking and daily insights, does not currently have a singular AI coach on its wearables, though many features are powered by the tech. While Apple has used AI for its watch features, some rumors have been swirling online about possible wellness coaching capabilities in the future, though the company did not comment on any new features.
The company has also filed a patent for a wellness ring. That being said, sources say other wearable brands should be wary of Apple in terms of whether it can easily replicate their model. “With a lot of the wearable companies, they’re asking the question, ‘Is Apple going to do something to take me out?,’ said Csicsila. “It’s a threat.”
While experts agree this technology is the future of the category, there are some possible issues. Although users want to know what to do with their insights, will they be motivated enough to ask the right questions? With this in mind, Whoop has created the capability to also suggest questions.
“You certainly can ask it whatever you want to ask it, and it’s ready for anything, but it does give you a couple of recommended prompts if you don’t know where to start,” said Capodilupo, pointing to questions like “What workout should I do today?”
While this technology is promising and brands across the category seem eager to roll it out, some suggest companies and users tread lightly.
“Consumers associate coaching with a degree of expertise and may not know or understand the role of AI in the coaching relationship,” said David Mallen, an advertising and media attorney and co-chair of the Advertising Disputes practice group at Loeb & Loeb.
Therefore, companies are hardwiring their algorithms to not answer certain questions or give advice on specific medical subjects. While there are questions around safety and regulation, experts agree that AI has been and will continue to be the key driver of the wearable category.
Csicsila said: “If they are not [using] AI machine learning, they are so far behind the curve.”
