Egym Identifies The ‘next Step’ For Fitness & Ai

EGYM CTO Flo Sauter argues there’s still more to connect and accomplish when it comes to AI adoption

In today’s fitness industry, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) has almost become table stakes. Potential partners and consumers have come to expect it from top brands. It’s the easiest way to signal innovation, future-readiness and assure long-term relevance. 

However, to reap all its benefits, there’s a step beyond fascination that much of the industry has yet to take. 

“Many operators are drowning in dashboards but starve for the next actions they should take,” said Flo Sauter, chief technical officer at EGYM. “The data is there, but the front-line staff members at the desk don’t get a clear ‘to do’ out of it. On the other side, members generate enormous amounts of data with their workouts, but very few actually dig through that or draw conclusions from it.”

EGYM, a worldwide fit tech innovator, is a clear go-to for brands aiming to guide that advancement.

“Closing that loop, from data to a decision the member or the trainer actually executes on, is the unfinished work of the next few years, and it’s exactly where we’re investing,” Sauter said.

Elevating the Member Experience

Sauter cited the space between the member experience and the back office as the industry’s largest gap in relation to AI.

“The member experience on the floor still looks the same as it did a decade ago,” he said. “The equipment most members touch every day is manual.’ It doesn’t know who’s using it, what they did last session or what they should do next for a targeted workout. That means even when an operator has a sophisticated AI on the CRM side, it can’t actually influence the workout itself.”

To bridge that gap, Sauter argues connected hardware needs to become a standard solution in the fitness industry. The data needs to flow out to all equipment and apps while AI ties it together in a personalized, adaptable experience. 

“We’ve been pushing hard precisely on the connected equipment side because we realized that this historically has been the largest gap, and without it, all AI applications on the training floor will end up as pure theory,” Sauter said.

EGYM’s solutions have taken shape in EGYM Genius AI, which the brand launched in late 2024. The AI-supported program connects to every machine on a gym floor and creates personalized workout plans for members by learning from their progress, tendencies and objectives over time. 

“The vision behind EGYM Genius AI is to help everyone, regardless of where they are, find their way into a healthy lifestyle and make the most out of their gym’s offerings,” Sauter added. 

Last year, EGYM reported that Genius contributed to a 10% reduction in churn among early adopters.

Behind that Experience

On the operator side, maximizing AI’s value is more about continuing to invest in and evolve with the technology.

“There are a lot of productive AI use-cases on the CRM side,” Sauter said. “Churn prediction has become a powerful tool. We also see operators leverage AI for basic customer support.”

Sauter specifically called out onboarding as a process that’s been turbocharged by AI. Certain programs take less than half the time they once did.

“We have customers who reduced an onboarding session from 50 minutes to 20,” he said. “But most importantly, we automated tasks that computers are better at anyway, like moving data between points or determining a machine’s settings based on a user’s measurements.”

Through these initiatives, businesses can direct their focus to more pressing matters. 

“We freed up time and mental capacity for trainers to focus on the human in front of them and high-quality interactions that make these brands unique,” Sauter said. “We genuinely see a big future in these kinds of applications and it’s hard to overstate the impact this will have in the coming years.”

This article originally appeared in ATN’s 2026 State of the Industry report, which examines the trends shaping the future of fitness and wellness, and what they mean for operators, investors and brands navigating a rapidly evolving market. Download the free report.

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