Abbott’s new Libre Assist app feature helps with in-the-moment food decisions

Food decisions are a daily puzzle for people living with diabetes. Every bite matters. But until now, most digital tools only told you what had already happened after you'd eaten. That's changing fast.

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Abbott unveiled Libre Assist, a new feature inside its Libre app. Instead of looking backward, it looks forward — offering real-time guidance on how a meal might affect your glucose before you eat. Think of it as a smart companion at every meal, powered by generative AI and tethered to real glucose data.

How does it work?

Libre Assist has a few simple steps built into the Libre app that make it feel natural and almost fun:

• Snap or type your meal before eating. Just take a photo or enter a brief description.
• AI predicts glucose impact. Generative AI analyzes ingredients and shows a predicted effect using a color code: green for low impact, yellow for medium, orange for high.
• Get practical tips. The app suggests ways to tweak your meal to lower potential glucose spikes. Think options like swapping flavored yogurt for plain or eating veggies first.
• After eating, confirm with real data. Libre Assist taps into Abbott's FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring sensors to show what actually happened to your glucose.

It's not a guessing game anymore. It's educated foresight backed by direct sensor feedback.

Why does it matter?

This isn't just another food logging app. Traditional tools sit back and report after the fact. That's helpful, but it leaves a big gap when you're in the moment, staring at a menu or juggling dinner decisions. Libre Assist fills that gap.

Marc Taub, vice president of technical operations for Abbott's diabetes care business, put it plainly. He said that people managing diabetes "need more than apps that just log food and fall short of helping them with meal decisions." Libre Assist was built to deliver that help free and right at your fingertips.

And it's real-world tested. Early user Shirley Bovshow, living with Type 2 diabetes, explained it this way: "Traditional food logging apps left me guessing. With Libre Assist I can see how a meal might affect my glucose before I eat — especially helpful when dining out or trying new foods."

So why does this matter in plain language? Because food choices can make or break glucose control. Giving people predictive insights changes meals from blind risks into informed choices.

The context

Abbott isn't new to diabetes tech. Its FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring systems have been pivotal in giving millions real-time glucose data. Libre Assist builds on that foundation, blending predictive AI with actual sensor feedback.

This new feature enters a crowded field of digital health tools, but it stands out because it goes beyond logging. It's about anticipation and adaptation, two things anyone managing a chronic condition wishes they had more of.

It's also offered at no extra cost to Libre app users. No subscription fees. No prescriptions. Just open the app and navigate to the Insights tab to get started.

In a world where people juggle stress, work, sleep, and workouts — all of which can nudge glucose levels — giving users a tool that anticipates meal impact rather than just explains it afterward is a breakthrough. It doesn't replace professional medical guidance, but it does give people more confidence and clarity around the most frequent and thorny decisions they make every day.