WHOOP makes a wearable that goes beyond just tracking fitness; it monitors the body 24/7 and provides deep, actionable insights on everything from sleep to managing stress, based on performance science research. WHOOP has always relied on machine learning to synthesize health data, but the arrival of generative AI was a lightbulb moment: what if large language models could provide an entirely new way to coach people to be their best?
The team envisioned a LLM-powered coach that would be available at any time of the day (or night) and could answer any question about a member’s fitness and health, for example “What was my lowest resting heart rate ever?” or “What weekly workout schedule would help me reach my goal?”—all with guidance tailored to each person’s unique body and goals.
The arrival of generative AI was a lightbulb moment: what if large language models could provide an entirely new way to coach people to be their best?
To achieve this, the WHOOP engineering team began to experiment with incorporating OpenAI’s GPT-4 into their companion app. After fine-tuning with anonymized member data and proprietary WHOOP algorithms, GPT-4 was able to deliver extremely personalized, relevant, and conversational responses based on a person’s data.
In September, WHOOP released WHOOP Coach, powered by OpenAI, to their members, making it the first wearable to deliver highly individualized performance coaching on demand. “WHOOP Coach leverages GPT-4 to essentially serve as a search engine for your body,” explained Jaime Waydo, Chief Technology Officer at WHOOP. “Coach is behind the scenes, looking at thousands of your own unique data points, figuring out how to serve you up the most actionable information every step of the way.”
So far, 4 of the top 5 questions members ask WHOOP Coach are about self-improvement, with the most popular question being “How can I improve my sleep quality?”. In fact, 40% of all questions WHOOP Coach receives are for recommendations. Everyone comes to WHOOP with a goal in mind—some people want to lose weight, others want to train for an upcoming marathon. With personalized health and fitness guidance, Coach is helping people get to their goals as quickly as possible.
WHOOP founder and CEO, Will Ahmed, has been impressed with what the technology is capable of. “There’s been a lot of hype about the promise of AI,” Ahmed said. “WHOOP Coach, which leverages GPT-4, actually delivers on it. Now, we can offer on-demand, personalized health and fitness coaching within seconds. This is the first of its kind, and it will transform our members’ relationship with their data, as well as their access to information in the health and wellness space.”
