Each platform\u2019s AI has its nuances, but the typical morning summary goes a bit like this:<\/p>\n
Good morning! You slept 7 hours last night with a resting heart rate of 60 bpm. That\u2019s in line with your weekly average, but your slightly elevated heart rate suggests you may not be fully recovered. If you feel tired, try going to bed earlier tonight. Health is all about balance! <\/p>\n
That might seem helpful, but those summaries are usually placed next to a chart with the same data. It\u2019s worse for workouts. Here\u2019s one that Strava\u2019s Athlete Intelligence generated for a recent run:<\/p>\n
Intense run with high heart rate zones, pushing into anaerobic territory and logging a relative effort well above your typical range. <\/p>\n
Thanks? I can ask Athlete Intelligence to \u201csay more,\u201d but it regurgitates my effort, heart rate zone, and pace metrics I can see in graphs in the workout summary. If you didn\u2019t know anything about my athletic history or the circumstances surrounding this run, this summary might read as insightful. Here\u2019s what the summary left out: <\/p>\n
- \n
- It was dangerous to triple my mileage in only my second run of the year, given the high humidity, 85-degree-plus weather, and my spotty workout history over the past two months compared to the six months before it. Strava has access to weather data and every workout I\u2019ve done in the past five years. <\/li>\n
- I had to cut this run short because I fell and shredded my hand and knees. This is information Strava has access to, as I uploaded a gnarly picture in addition to text notes. After adding said notes, the updated summary only reflected that I cut the run short. My injury changed nothing about its insights, even though it\u2019s the most important thing that happened during this run. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_1046.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nI don\u2019t know guys, without Athlete Intelligence, would I have known my elevation gain was a modest 88ft? Screenshot: Strava<\/p>\n
A more helpful insight might\u2019ve been: \u201cYou ran during record-breaking heat for your region. While you maintained a consistent and steady pace, you have a bad habit of ramping up mileage too quickly after prolonged breaks, leading to several self-reported injuries in the past five years. A safer alternative would be lower mileage runs over two weeks to acclimate to rising temperatures. Since you\u2019re injured, stick to low-intensity walks until your wounds have healed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Runna, a popular running app that also features AI insights, generated a slightly more useful summary. It said my next run should be \u201ceasy,\u201d one that\u2019s perfectly timed for me to recharge. I\u2019m sorry, but 48 hours isn\u2019t enough time for my knees to safely heal without risk of re-opening my wounds.<\/p>\n
The in-app chatbots aren\u2019t much better. Yesterday morning, I asked Whoop Coach if I should run today because I injured myself on my last run. It told me: \u201cWhoop is unable to reply to the message you sent. Please try sending a different message.\u201d I tried reframing my prompt, saying, \u201cI\u2019m injured and have a limp. Generate a low-intensity workout alternative while I recover.\u201d I was prompted to contact Whoop Membership Services to continue the conversation.<\/p>\n
Oura Advisor was more helpful, noting in my daily summary: \u201cWith your Readiness dipping and recent stressors like heat, an injury, and higher glucose, your body may feel more fatigued than usual today.\u201d It suggested I prioritize rest. When asked, \u201cWhat types of movement are okay when you have an injured knee and a slight limp?\u201d it responded with common-sense answers like a short and easy walk if there\u2019s no pain, light stretching, and a reminder to completely rest if I feel any sharp discomfort. This is closer to an ideal response, but I had to guide it to the type of answer I wanted. The insights are so general-purpose that they benefit self-quantification newbies \u2014 and even then, only if they\u2019re allergic to googling.<\/p>\n
My botched run is exactly the type of scenario where tech CEOs say AI insights could be most useful. In theory, I agree! It would be nice to have a competent, built-in chatbot that I could ask more nuanced questions. <\/p>\n
1\/3<\/strong>I tried this exact query twice and got the same result. Screenshot: Whoop<\/p>\n
For example, I\u2019ve had an irregular sleep schedule this month. I asked Oura Advisor if my sleep and readiness trends showed signs of an elevated risk of injury. I also asked if I had abnormally high levels of sleep debt this month. In both cases, it said no \u2014 it said I was improving.<\/p>\n
What resulted was an hour-long debate with a chatbot that left me questioning my own lived experience. When I tried asking it to delve into a particularly stressful week earlier this month, it told me its insights were \u201climited to [my] most recent week and current trends.\u201d That sort of defeats the point of having six years\u2019 worth of Oura data. <\/p>\n
After months of perusing Reddit and other community forums, I know I\u2019m not the only person who finds these AI features to be laughable. And yet, Holly Shelton, Oura\u2019s chief product officer, tells me that the response to Oura Advisor has been \u201coverwhelmingly positive,\u201d with 60 percent of users using it multiple times a week and 20 percent using it daily. \u201cBeyond frequency,\u201d Shelton says, \u201cIt\u2019s delivering real impact: 60 percent say Advisor has helped them better understand metrics or health concepts they previously found confusing.\u201d <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Strava spokesperson Brian Bell tells me Athlete Intelligence was intended to help beginner athletes and that \u201cthe response to the feature remains strong\u201d with about \u201c80 percent of those opting in to give feedback finding the feature \u2018very helpful\u2019 to \u2018helpful.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
A Whoop spokesperson wasn\u2019t able to respond by publication.<\/p>\n
These milquetoast summaries? They\u2019re probably the best compromise between speed, cost, usefulness, data privacy, and legal liability<\/p>\n