Google just landed the ultimate performance consultant. The tech giant announced at today's Made by Google event that NBA superstar Stephen Curry is joining as a "performance advisor" for its Health, Pixel, and Cloud products, marking a strategic shift toward celebrity-endorsed AI coaching that could reshape the entire fitness tech landscape.
Google just made its biggest celebrity play yet in the AI health wars. The announcement came during today's Made by Google event, where the company revealed that Golden State Warriors legend Stephen Curry has signed on as a "performance advisor" to help shape the future of Google's hardware and AI services. The timing couldn't be more strategic - as Apple dominates health wearables and Samsung pushes deeper into fitness tracking, Google is betting that elite athletic expertise can give its AI an edge.
[embedded image: Stephen Curry at Google event]
The partnership centers around Fitbit's new personal health coach, a Gemini-powered chatbot that generates customized workout routines and metric targets based on user goals. Curry's role involves testing the platform and sharing his "coaching methods and philosophies" to improve the AI's recommendations, according to Google's press release. It's a fascinating collision of athletic intuition and machine learning - can an AI learn to coach like a four-time NBA champion?
"This hands-on work has already begun, with Stephen and his team of experts working with our health experts and product and AI engineers to test our new products and experiences, giving us incredibly valuable feedback," Google platforms and devices head Rick Osterloh told The Verge. "Stephen's elite insights and our AI technology aren't just for sports — our work together will show how anyone can use these products and features to maintain a healthier lifestyle and get more done."
The deal goes beyond just advisory input. Curry and his team are now contractually bound to use Google's entire hardware ecosystem - phones, watches, and earbuds. It's a familiar playbook that echoes celebrity endorsement strategy, but with a twist: Curry isn't just promoting products, he's actively shaping them.
