Life Time Adds AI to App, Eyes Personalized Fitness Recommendations

Life Time has broken new ground, partnering with Microsoft to launch L.AI.C (pronounced lay-see), an AI-driven companion for its members that is housed within the Life Time member app. The luxury athletic country club operator has tapped Microsoft’s AzureOpenAI Service for the new feature, which is rolling out to beta users.

The first version will offer quick answers to basic questions such as club descriptions, hours and offerings of its 170+ clubs while future editions of L.AI.C will provide personalized class suggestions, assisted class and court reservations, tailored workout programs, answers to wellness-related inquiries, and connect members to online and in-club resources.

“AI advancements are unstoppable, and we’re embracing this opportunity to provide our members with experiences that will only get better and better – just as we have committed from the start,” Life Time founder and CEO Bahram Akradi said.

Membership growth

It’s just the beginning, Akradi says of the fitness and lifestyle brand that continues to see an “over-performance” in membership growth. Amid its national expansion, Life Time opened its second club in Brooklyn this spring, shortly following the debut of its Manhattan PENN1 location, which boasts the most indoor pickleball courts in NYC.

“From personalized, proactive suggestions and reminders to virtually unlimited opportunities to support our members’ unique needs and preferences, L.AI.C will further extend our brand as the trusted, go-to health and wellness partner for a lifetime,” Akradi continued. “The best is yet to come.”

App development

Last month, Life Time opened its app to non-members, allowing anyone to access its wellness offerings and on-demand fitness classes free of charge.

While the luxury athletic country club operator dives head first into advancing technology, it’s also looking to maintain social connections and find new ways to engage its members, as Mark Huckaby, Life Time’s business development manager of Corporate Partnerships, shared with Forbes this month.

“Many clubs are hosting ‘bougee parties’ on a Saturday night where members are trading workout clothes for cocktail attire, families are spending more time together because of our offerings for kids and mom and dad, and we are helping to revitalize shopping centers, office centers and other places,” he told the publication. “It’s been tremendous to be a part of.”

Life Time’s decision to deploy AI to improve the member experience is consistent with its member-focused ambitions — which have paid off. The luxury club operator has kept the pulse of fitness and wellness trends, investing heavily in pickleball, establishing 635 permanent courts nationwide, expanding its Dynamic Personal Training program and launching a longevity and GLP-1 arm with Miora.