Google and NHG Health Test an AI Health Coach for Preventive Care
Google and NHG Health plan to offer an AI-enabled health coach through WhatsApp that gives personalised lifestyle advice and preventive care reminders, starting with a pilot in 2027.
- Partners
- Google and NHG Health, through the NHG Healthbot on WhatsApp
- Announced
- 29 October, at the inaugural Google for Health Summit in Singapore
- Pilot
- Nine months, starting in the first quarter of 2027, with up to a few thousand users
- Languages
- All four official languages, with voice message support
How the Health Coach Works
The coach will suggest healthier meals and nearby places to exercise, drawing on Google services such as Google Maps. It will also offer virtual frailty assessments and guidance on diet and exercise for older users. Clinically sensitive or urgent concerns will be directed to appropriate care channels.
Who Will Take Part
The first group will include people eligible for Healthier SG who have not yet gone for screening, so that the pilot can find out why they have not done so. Users will be added neighbourhood by neighbourhood. If the trial succeeds, the aim is to extend the service beyond central and northern Singapore, possibly through the national HealthHub platform.
Predicting Health Risks
The coach will be informed by a predictive model that combines NHG Health’s population health data with Google’s information on environmental and behavioural patterns. The model aims to forecast risks such as chronic disease and frailty across a population, so that people can be reached earlier.
Wider Google Commitments
The summit also announced a new Google Research hub in Singapore that will work with local universities, and a study with the National University Health System on an AI tool that helps doctors with clinical questions. The tool’s accuracy, safety and usefulness will be assessed by clinicians. Google is also offering an online AI certificate for healthcare workers and contributing US$7 million to a regional health coalition, including funding for an AI platform that aims to detect emerging disease threats in South-east Asia.
Official Views
Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How said the collaboration could help the health system reach people before their problems become crises. NHG Health chief executive Joe Sim said better data could help the cluster understand residents and act earlier. Google Singapore’s country managing director, Ben King, said AI could help with the challenges of an ageing population.
