Google announced that Fitbit AI coach will gain the ability to read users’ medical records, marking a new era in personalized healthcare. The new feature will allow the AI health coach to provide safer and more targeted advice by combining data from wearable devices with medical information. This innovation represents a fundamental shift in how technology approaches personal health, transforming the traditional role of wearables from simple activity trackers to comprehensive health advisors.
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Starting next month, Fitbit users in the United States will be able to connect their medical records to the app. Medical data, such as lab results, medications and visit history, will be combined with data from wearables to provide more personalized health advice. The feature is powered by Google ’s Gemini AI technology , which is specially trained to understand and analyze complex health data. The system can identify correlations between biometric data from the wearable and clinical outcomes, providing a more holistic view of a user’s health.
According to Florence Thng , Google ’s director of health intelligence product management , instead of getting general answers about cholesterol, users will be able to ask “ How can I improve my cholesterol? ” The AI coach will then be able to summarize cholesterol lab results, highlight notable values and trends, and provide personalized wellness insights based on medical history and wearable data. This means the system can suggest specific exercises based on the user’s heart rate during past workouts, or recommend dietary changes that take into account both cholesterol levels and sleep patterns.
Medical record integration is achieved through partnerships with b.well Connected Health and CLEAR, using certified IAL2 for secure access. Records are automatically synced between healthcare providers and stored securely on Fitbit without being used for advertising. This interoperability approach is critical, as it allows users to have a unified view of their health no matter how many different healthcare providers they visit. The system also supports standards like FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), ensuring that data can be securely transferred between different healthcare platforms.
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New capabilities and improvements of the Fitbit AI coach
In the coming months, users will be able to securely share their records and AI with family or healthcare providers using a link or QR code. The feature will also integrate with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) through Health Connect, allowing for queries like how exercise or meals affect glucose. This integration is especially important for people with diabetes or prediabetes, as it allows them to better understand how their daily choices affect their glucose levels. Fitbit AI coach can analyze patterns and suggest optimal times for meals or exercise based on a user’s individual glucose responses.
Google also announced major improvements to Fitbit 's sleep tracking . The company says that sleep tracking will now be 15 percent more accurate and better at distinguishing between when you're actually sleeping and when you're just trying to sleep. The update will be rolling out in preview over the next few days, with an improved sleep score to follow in the coming weeks. This improvement is achieved through advanced machine learning algorithms that analyze combinations of data from heart rate, movement, skin temperature, and blood oxygen levels to provide more accurate sleep metrics.
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Google 's move follows similar efforts by competitors like Amazon with its Alexa health integrations , OpenAI , and Microsoft through its Nuance and health AI tools . In contrast, Apple reportedly limited a similar AI health coach to a planned iOS 27 Health+ service . This competitive dynamic shows the importance that tech giants are placing on the digital health space, with Google moving aggressively while other players are taking a more conservative approach due to privacy and regulatory concerns.
