Fitbit has had an oddly uncertain future in recent years. The fitness tracker brand that helped popularise personal wellness gadgets was acquired by Google in 2021, releasing only a few new trackers and smartwatches since then, with the Fitbit app now also used as the fitness app for the Google Pixel Watch.

Last year, a Google spokesperson said there would not be any new Fitbit smartwatches in future, though last week the company said there would be new hardware in 2026.

Google has also continued to push out welcome software updates to trackers such as the Inspire 3 and Charge 6, which came out in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Google has also visually revamped the Fitbit app for iPhone and Android so now it looks like, well, a Google software product rather than the app Fitbit maintained before it was acquired. It took a few years for Google to overhaul the look of the app, but for some Fitbit users it’s all about to change again.

Fitbit users in the US can now opt in to try out a preview version of Fitbit’s Personal Health Coach, a new version of the Fitbit app with a visual and UI redesign that also integrates Google Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) into the mix.

Only available for those with a Fitbit Premium subscription, Personal Health Coach takes the data collected by your Fitbit or Google Pixel Watch and presents it in new ways.

When signing up to the Public Preview of the Fitbit app, which is available only on Android at the moment, you’ll be invited to install the new version of the app before being asked to type in your fitness goals and preferences. Google says this will help the AI to set up the app with your preferences, and to develop a custom workout plan.

The whole app is built around the idea that by allowing AI to access your fitness metrics, Fitbit will be better equipped to give you more personalised feedback and recommendations. Google says the three pillars of the new app are a Fitness Trainer, Sleep Coach, and Health & Wellness Advisor.

If all this sounds great, unfortunately for Brits it really is currently only for US Fitbit fans, with no confirmation in sight of when it’s coming to the UK. Either way, such a public test period for a major app update is a little unusual, probably showing that Google needs some user data and feedback first to see if the app is ready to push out to everyone worldwide.

Google also noted that nutrition tracking and cycle logging are not available, but you can toggle back to the old version of the app to access these tools if you need them.

You’ll also be able to ask the AI coach things such as, “Do I sleep better on days when I get more steps?”, and it’ll mine some data to give you an answer.

Fitness competitors such as Garmin are using AI to give similar insights, and I am a little sceptical. If you get your head round your data, you can usually figure out trends and analyse what you need to do. While I agree that being served up personalised recommendations is a good thing, or even in the case of this new coach assemble a fitness plan, which you can change or the AI can adjust depending on your readiness, it could be a bit of data overload for the average Fitbit user.

Perhaps that’s why it’s being restricted to paying Fitbit Premium users. Either way, I won’t be able to test it out until it hits these shores – and neither will you.