Allergy Insights with Watson uses AI to predict allergy symptom risk

IBM today announced a new tool that taps AI to predict when allergy symptoms are likely to flare up. It's called Allergy Insights with Watson, and it's available in The Weather Channel app for iOS and Android ahead of a launch on the web. In addition to a 15-day forecast that predicts allergy symptom risk (e.g., high, moderate, low) and a 3-day outlook for allergens, Allergy Insights delivers notifications when allergy risk is changing and explanations about how weather conditions can trigger symptoms. It also provides pollen levels by allergen (with mold coming soon), tips for managing allergies or reducing exposure, and news articles and editorial content related to allergies. According to a recent survey conducted by IBM, most allergy sufferers -- 60% -- use weather forecasts to help manage and mitigate the worst of their symptoms. But pollen metrics like tree, grass, and ragweed levels, which the bulk of apps use to assess risk, aren't necessarily good predictors, and their sources tend to be spotty.