How Google and Vitality are Partnering for AI Healthcare

AI-powered solutions for advancing human health are set to receive an upgrade thanks to a new partnership between Google and Discovery Group, the South Africa-based financial services organisation that owns Vitality Health and Life Insurance.

Through the partnership Vitality Health has collaborated with Google to launch Vitality AI, a platform designed to provide personalised health recommendations for its users.

Non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes contribute to 75% of deaths globally, many of which could be mitigated by behavioural changes.

Adrian Gore, Founder and Group Chief Executive of the Discovery Group, says that despite the known benefits of preventative care, health systems often remain focused on treating illnesses after they arise.

“Our partnership with Google transforms this,” he says.

“By bringing together Google’s technology and AI capabilities and our unique data sets and understanding of behaviour change, we will have a never-before-seen capability and understanding of a person’s health, coming together in a way that personalises and empowers millions of people to take control of their health.

"This is transformational, both for the individual and as a whole.”

Vitality AI for personalised healthcare delivery

Vitality AI is powered by Google Cloud’s AI and data analytics models, including Vertex AI and Gemini.

As a health insurance provider with a large health dataset and expertise in behaviour change, Vitality will apply Google's AI tools to give users actionable insights tailored to their individual health history.

Vitality AI will use de-identified datasets from Vitality, which contain over 2,800 dimensions, including lifestyle behaviours, health data and risk factors for illness.

Google’s AI tools will process this health data to generate tailored recommendations for people’s daily lifestyle choices, aiming to reduce the onset of preventable diseases.

The Vitality AI platform will be able to identify and communicate risks to users with relevant context and explain health conditions in a way that could motivate positive behaviour change.

Leveraging Google's AI to improve health habits

The collaboration could enhance the delivery of hyper-relevant healthcare at scale.

Maureen Costello, Vice President UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa at Google, says this covers a scope of work "from accelerating the pace of scientific progress to enhancing early detection of diseases, improving treatment planning, better supporting healthcare professionals and giving more people the right tools and information to live healthier." 

“By integrating Google Cloud's advanced AI capabilities, including Gemini models, with Vitality’s data and understanding on driving healthier habits, this partnership poses an exciting opportunity to deliver hyper-relevant healthcare at scale.”

Potential impacts on health outcomes and costs

The benefits of Vitality AI could be higher for older adults and individuals with chronic health conditions.

The personalised recommendations provided by Vitality could also lead to reduced hospital costs for the broader public.

Data from Vitality shows that its current insights have increased screening rates by 5.5 times, which results in a 19% increase in early cancer detection.

This new partnership deepens a decade-long relationship between the two companies.

The agreement allows Vitality to make comprehensive use of the Google Health Connect platform and strengthens the existing Vitality-Fitbit relationship.

Under the terms of the deal, Google will be Vitality’s AI market partner, assisting in scaling Vitality AI and supporting its expansion into new territories.

Vitality will also have a dedicated partnership with YouTube Health as it works to build a wellness content channel with educational resources.

The partnership could signal a change in how healthcare is delivered, moving from reactive treatment toward proactive and personalised support.