What AI fitness apps can and can't do — for now - marketplace-tech Recap

Podcast: marketplace-tech

Published: 2026-02-04

Duration: 8 minutes

Guests: Nicole Nguyen

Summary

AI fitness apps offer personalization and motivation but come with technological limitations and higher costs.

What Happened

Nicole Nguyen, a personal tech columnist at The Wall Street Journal, shared her experiences with various AI fitness apps on Marketplace Tech. She tried Apple's Workout Buddy, Fitbit's AI Health Coach, and Peloton's AI-enabled camera. Nguyen found Fitbit's personalization handy for those with busy schedules, while Peloton was her favorite for strength training, despite its high cost.

Peloton's hardware, priced around $2,000 with a $50 monthly fee, provides advanced form correction but requires a significant investment. Fitbit's AI coach, available with a premium subscription, can sometimes make errors, such as suggesting non-existent workout moves. Nguyen noted that these apps are more expensive due to AI features, with additional subscription fees for premium functionalities.

She highlighted that AI is democratizing personal training, making it accessible to more people through free chatbots. However, some users turn to human trainers after experiencing injuries with AI-generated workouts. Nguyen observed that AI can effectively introduce beginners to fitness, but human trainers still offer superior motivation and accountability.

Fitbit's chatbot impressed Nguyen with its proactive suggestions based on sleep and heart rate data, enhancing her self-talk during workouts. Peloton's rep counting feature motivated her through gamification, though it sometimes failed to count completed reps accurately. Nguyen suggested that AI's flexibility could lead to users skipping planned workouts without a human trainer's guidance.

Looking ahead, Nguyen expects improvements in form correction technology, which is already present in devices like Temple and Tonal. She also sees AI transforming nutrition tracking by using computer vision to automatically log meal details from plate photos, reducing friction in meal tracking.

Overall, Nguyen concluded that while AI fitness apps are advancing rapidly, they still have room for improvement in accuracy and user experience. She anticipates continued enhancements in both fitness and nutrition tracking technologies, making them more user-friendly and effective.

Key Insights