Peloton has added new Content Preferences settings that let members tell Peloton which instructors, music genres, and class types they prefer. These will then feed into Peloton’s AI recommendation system, helping to shape what classes get recommended to each member.
The new settings are available now in both the iOS and Android Peloton apps, as well as on Peloton hardware (Bikes, Treads, and Rows). It is under a section titled “Workout Preferences” (or “Class Preferences” depending on what device you are viewing it on), and describes it as “Preferences set by you or based on your recent activity”.
On the Peloton App, you can find them by tapping your Profile icon in the bottom right, opening the menu in the top right, and selecting “Content preferences” under Preferences.
On Peloton hardware, press the 3 dot menu on the bottom right of the screen, and then select “Profile Settings.” There, on the left side, under Fitness Preferences, select “Content Preferences.”
The new Workout / Class Preferences section has three options: Instructors, Music, and Activity types. Peloton says these choices are used to “customize class recommendations.”
For instructors, members can now directly select their favorites from Peloton’s full instructor roster. The screen explains:
“Favorites and top matches will be recommended most often, with others suggested occasionally for variety.”
Peloton also identifies some instructors as a “Top match,” giving a glimpse at who their recommendation system already thinks is a good fit before you make your own selections.
You can choose multiple favorite instructors, with the saved names then appearing directly on the main Content Preferences page.
Music works in a similar way. Members can select from Alternative, Classic Rock, Country, Electronic, Hip Hop, Indie, Latin, Pop, R&B, and Rock.
As with instructors, Peloton can label genres as a “Top match” based on what it already knows about you, while your own selections give the system explicit preferences to use going forward.
The third option is Activity types. For members who are not currently following a Personalized Plan, the available choices include Cycling, Running, Walking, Rowing, Strength, Yoga, Cardio, Stretching, Meditation, Bike Bootcamp, Tread Bootcamp, and Row Bootcamp.
Multiple activities can be selected at once, and the same recommendation language applies: favorites and Peloton’s existing top matches should appear most often, while other modalities can still be suggested occasionally.
However, members who are already following a Personalized Plan cannot make separate activity selections from this screen. Instead, Peloton directs them to manage those preferences from within their plan.
The screen states:
“You’re in a Personalized Plan. To update activity types and disciplines in your Personalized Plan, go to Manage Plan.”
That is because Peloton’s Personalized Plans now work with Peloton IQ, which uses a member’s goals, preferences, profile information, and workout history to build and adjust a weekly plan.
The new Content Preferences add another layer of direct input, letting members tell Peloton which instructors and music styles they want favored in recommendations, while activity types for those already in a Personalized Plan continue to be managed within the plan itself.
Peloton has been working on personalized class recommendations for years. An earlier Daily Class Recommendations feature asked members about preferred modalities, intensity, music, and workout length before generating suggested classes.
Unlike that feature, where it was a one-time recommendations questionnaire, the preferences now are a persistent account settings.
Peloton’s own recommendation technology has also become more sophisticated since those earlier features. The company has described using workout history, instructors and class types a member gravitates toward, recent fitness activity, and other signals to rank homepage recommendations. More recently, that personalization work has become part of Peloton’s broader Peloton IQ strategy.
The new controls add explicit feedback to those inferred preferences. Rather than relying entirely on your workout history to decide that you probably like a particular instructor or music genre, you can now tell Peloton directly.
The feature also does not appear to completely lock recommendations to your selections. Peloton repeatedly notes that other instructors, music, and activities may still be suggested “occasionally for variety.”
Peloton also has new patent applications that could use AI-generated instructor voice cues that react to a member’s performance in real time.
Have you updated your favorite instructors, music, and activity types yet?
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