Vitality has today announced the full launch of personalised step targets through Vitality AI, to improve the health of low-activity members.
The new personalised steps programme uses data and science to dynamically tailor a lower daily step threshold for the member and incentivise them to take some steps. It then increases this activity threshold over time using Vitality’s expert insight into habit formation and lasting behaviour change.
AI is used to identify eligible members who have a linked activity-tracking device but show low engagement with Active Rewards and limited recent physical activity.
These members are then invited to follow personalised step targets and receive tailored guidance within the app, helping to drive meaningful and sustainable behaviour change. Since its trial launch, more than 10,000 Vitality members have enrolled.
The introduction of personalised steps to the wider membership base follows an initial trial by the insurer, which demonstrated a clear uplift in both engagement and activity for those who were enrolled on the trial programme.
Those members achieving fewer than 5,000 steps less than once a week increased this to nearly three times per week on average – equivalent to two additional active days.
This increase in activity demonstrates the power that a personalised approach to health can have in transforming people’s lives and habits. While longer-term outcomes continue to be assessed, the findings reinforce the potential of personalised, AI-driven interventions to support sustainable behaviour change at scale.
Furthermore, follow-up analysis of the trial demonstrated sustained impact beyond the trial, with the least engaged cohorts seeing a 73% uplift in activity, revealing lasting change in the physical activity of participants.
“Our initial trial of personalised steps gave us a clear signal: personalisation works. We saw that members who were active less than once a week nearly tripled their engagement, with this physical exercise becoming a formed habit that lasted long after the trial ended.
When you see change like this, and see it last, you have a responsibility to bring it to more people and that’s exactly why we’re rolling personalised steps out to our wider membership.
Personalised Steps is just one example of how we’re applying AI to create more tailored health journeys. As we continue to test and refine the programme, we’ll explore how personalised support can be introduced earlier in the member journey to help build long-term engagement with healthy habits.”
Emile Stipp, CEO Vitality AI
This approach builds on insights from Vitality’s Habit Index and its Five Years Longer campaign, which show that even small increases in physical activity can deliver significant health benefits.
Research analysing more than one million Vitality members found that sustaining a habit of just 5,000 steps three times a week can add up to three years to life expectancy, while more consistent activity can reduce mortality risk by up to 57%.
Crucially, the data shows the greatest improvements are seen among those who move from inactivity to regular activity, reinforcing the importance of targeted support to help high-risk members build sustainable habits and improve their long-term health.
