Samsung is getting into the AI-powered personal health assistant game. Just before unveiling its latest batch of devices (likely including new smartwatches) at its Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, it’s starting to roll out a tool called Health Assistant. This chatbot, fully integrated with Samsung Health, is now available in beta for “eligible US users”.
Health Assistant’s goal is to help people better understand the meaning of their health data. It will offer advice on lifestyle changes that can improve their overall well-being. Samsung says the companion can “provide high-quality recommendations that have been validated by a team of doctors and certified health coaches on how to proactively track their health.” You will also be able to ask the chatbot questions about your health data.
Health Assistant will be able to pull data from your phone and smart ring as well as a Galaxy Watch. The tool, which is opt-in, can leverage data from Samsung Health’s “five core pillars of wellness” (sleep, activity, nutrition, mindfulness and vital signs). Among other things, Health Assistant will provide users with information on how each of these pillars influences the others.
Samsung says Health Assistant can help detect signals and patterns that a user may not be aware of. However, it will not provide medical advice or suggest treatments, and it cannot diagnose health problems.
What might set Health Assistant apart from similar offerings like Whoop and Fitbit is that it’s tied into the broader Samsung ecosystem. It integrates with the company’s custom data engine, meaning it can mine information from things like your calendar and even smart home devices. For example, if you turn off your smart lights late at night, your companion might point out the potential impact on your sleep. Later, the Health Assistant could, for example, suggest breathing exercises before a work meeting.
Samsung said Bloomberg That its other new health features include one that monitors metrics like your heart rate and blood oxygen level while you sleep, then notifies you if there are any significant changes (Apple Watch has had a similar feature for a few years). You’ll also be able to view an energy score, heart health score, and fitness index, which take into account factors like activity data, heart rate, and oxygen consumption to provide a picture of your progress.
Additionally, the company is working on a platform that could allow doctors to access your smartwatch data and monitor metrics like blood pressure between your visits to their clinic. This follows Samsung’s purchase of Xealth, a company that integrates data from wearable devices with clinical records.
