Google renews its wellness ambitions with a Fitbit app refresh
Google is expanding its health ecosystem by revamping the Fitbit app with a modern redesign and an integrated AI coach. The feature, dubbed Coach and powered by Google’s Gemini AI, aims to turn Fitbit from a passive activity tracker into a proactive wellness companion. The rollout begins Oct. 28 for eligible Fitbit Premium users in the United States on Android, with broader availability planned over time.
What the new design focuses on
The redesigned app centers around four main tabs: Today, Fitness, Sleep, and Health. The Today tab emphasizes glanceable, weekly trends over day-to-day fluctuations, offering a clearer view of progress. The other sections enable deeper dives into metrics like sleep stages and vital signs. Importantly, this refresh shifts some data interpretation away from the user to an AI-powered assistant, aiming to reduce guesswork and enhance motivation.
Today and data that tells a story
Today is designed to be the hub for quick insights. By highlighting weekly patterns, Google suggests users can better gauge overall progress rather than focusing on isolated daily numbers. This approach aligns with a broader goal: making wellness data actionable in a way that resonates with real-life routines.
The heart of the update: Coach
At the core of the revamp is Coach, accessible via an “Ask Coach” prompt. Coach uses current and historical data to interpret metrics and craft a personal action plan. Described by Google as an “always-on” coach, it can answer questions or proactively adjust plans based on activity, readiness, or life events such as travel or missed workouts.
How Coach can help in practice
Examples include practical prompts like, “I have 30 minutes for a workout… What do you recommend?” or “How can I improve my VO2 max?” The assistant can also correlate prompts with user-specific stats, such as linking better sleep to higher daily steps. During optional onboarding, users set goals, log available equipment, and note injuries or limitations. The preview starts with a 5–10 minute conversation (text or voice) to tailor the AI’s understanding of goals and motivations.
Personalized coaching within a privacy-conscious framework
The coaching experience is opt-in. Users who prefer a traditional Fitbit experience without AI-driven coaching can continue to use the app without enabling Coach. The AI plan adapts in real time to metrics like training load, readiness, and overnight recovery, aligning with long-term health objectives.
Availability, pricing, and the testing phase
The feature launches in the U.S. for adults who hold a Fitbit Premium subscription ($10/month or $80/year) and own a supported device (Fitbit trackers, Pixel Watch, or related models). During the preview, users can toggle between the old and new designs to compare experiences and provide feedback. Google plans to broaden access over time, guided by user input gathered through an integrated feedback tool.
Why this matters for wellness tech
Google’s integration of AI coaching with a hardware-centric health platform signals a potentially transformative approach to consumer wellness. By tying personalized coaching to concrete metrics — and by emphasizing weekly progress over daily fluctuations — the company aims to deliver actionable insights at scale. The success of Coach will hinge on the accuracy, usefulness, and privacy safeguards of the system, as well as its ability to drive real-world improvements without overwhelming users with data.
Looking ahead
While this is still a preview phase, the collaboration between Google’s Gemini AI and Fitbit’s wearable data could set a new bar for proactive wellness coaching. If the Coach experience proves compelling and trustworthy, it may shift user expectations for AI-enabled health tools from novelty to necessity.
