Strava introduces new artificial intelligence feature for subscribers

Strava has jumped further onto the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon, with a new feature launched today called Athlete Intelligence.

The new component to the workout-logging app will see workout data interpreted into "simple, personalised insights and guidance". It is available as a public beta for subscribers from Thursday.

If you have ever stared at post-workout data and wondered what it actually means, then this AI-driven update is the one for you.

"Today’s beta of Athlete Intelligence integrates the community feedback from the private beta and offers a considerably different experience with deeper context and analysis," Matt Salazar, Strava's chief product officer, said in a press release.

"With more than 10 billion activity uploads on Strava, the data illustrates a unique picture for each user and represents their authentic effort. By distilling it to be more conversational, the goal of this feature is to help users better understand their performance."

The brand was already using AI to help flag irregular activities, employing machine learning will be used to automatically pull up "irregular, improbable, or impossible activities recorded to the platform".

Strava claims it will mean smarter insights across pace, heart rate, elevation, power and Relative Effort on the app. It also detects and highlights milestones like longest distance or biggest climb.

It will spot trends over time, so users can see how they are progressing over 30 days, and also will aim to help users understand performance insights, like 'what does it mean if one spends X amount of time in zone two?'.

Straight after uploading a ride, Athlete Intelligence will summarise workout data into an insight. Users can opt out of the feature at any point.

It is the latest update to Strava, after last week's introduction of Quick Edit. That offers instant access to the most common activity edits and privacy controls once the app is opened by a user after a workout is uploaded from a device like a bike computer. Dark Mode was introduced in the summer, alongside a new family plan too.

Last year, Strava launched messaging, which attracted both praise and criticism.