Samsung brings AI diabetes coaching to older adults’ wrists and phones

Diabetes prevention programs have a stubborn problem: people sign up, then drift away. Samsung Electronics America is betting that an AI coach inside a device people already own can fix that, starting with the group that needs it most, adults aged 65 and older.

The company has announced a collaboration with Lark Health to bring AI-powered prevention and chronic-care support to older adults through the Samsung Health app. It begins with Lark's Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) for eligible users. Samsung describes this as the first phase of a broader rollout, though the full list of future services has not been detailed in the announcement.

How does it work?

Eligible users access Lark's program through Samsung Health. Lark's approach is built around an AI coach that talks with participants, tracks behaviour, and nudges them toward healthier habits such as better eating, more movement and weight loss. The MDPP is a structured, Medicare-covered lifestyle programme designed to cut the risk of type 2 diabetes among people with prediabetes.

The appeal is simple. Instead of travelling to a clinic for group sessions, an older adult can follow the programme from a phone or a Samsung wearable. Coaching is available at any hour, and data from the device can inform the advice.

Why does it matter?

Older adults are often treated as the group least comfortable with digital health. That assumption is getting weaker, and Samsung is acting on it. Prevention programmes are also cheap compared with the cost of managing diabetes for decades, which is why payers are willing to cover them.

But the real test is retention. Many digital programmes report strong sign-ups and weak completion. If Samsung and Lark can keep older users engaged for the full course, the result would be a credible template for large-scale prevention. If not, it will be one more app on a crowded home screen.

The context

The Gulf has a direct stake in this. The UAE and Saudi Arabia carry some of the highest diabetes rates in the world, and populations across the GCC are ageing faster than many policymakers planned for. Saudi Vision 2030 places prevention and the Health Sector Transformation Programme at its centre, while the UAE has pushed national diabetes and digital health strategies backed by unified health records and telehealth rules.

That makes the US model instructive. Medicare reimbursement is what lets a programme like MDPP reach scale. Without a payer willing to cover digital coaching, even the best technology stays a consumer gadget. GCC insurers and health authorities, from Dubai Health Authority to Saudi's Council of Health Insurance, face the same question: will they pay for outcomes delivered through a device?

Samsung's wearables are already common across the region, which gives the company a natural distribution advantage if it chooses to export the idea. Nothing in the announcement suggests a Gulf launch. Still, regional health leaders should take note. The partnership shows where prevention is heading: away from the clinic waiting room and toward the pocket, with an AI coach and a reimbursement code behind it.