I'm not sure the "AI" in my chair's lumbar support actually counts as AI, but it has been smart enough to fix up my spine

Sitting pretty

AI is everywhere, exhausting to keep up with, and increasingly perceived as harmful to games. But that’s mostly generative AI; the more limited, less media-scraping and energy-hungry breeds of artificial intelligence can still play a harmless, maybe even useful role, especially on the hardware side. Even if it finds itself in some unexpected places, as is the case with HBADA’s X7 chair.

While AI-powered lumbar support sounds like the kind of gimmicky nonsense that’s become all too common in 2026, I’ve been using an X7 for a week, and it’s... surprisingly effective? To the point where it’s literally changed my spine for the better, helping to deal with my recurring back pain and posture issues. It’s been a very pleasant surprise.

Granted, it had better yield results for the price. The X7 is on an Autumn sale at the time of writing, and it’s still £1,169 - at a time when most of the PC components you’d use while sitting in it are historically expensive. Rightfully, it does at least throw the kitchen sink at its features list: 720-degree adjustable arm rests, a built-in footrest, a 4D adjustable headrest, an "8D bionic" back massager, a "cloud ventilated" seat cushion with cooling fans, and a "graphene heating and red light therapy," system all come as standard.

Considering the bevy of buzzwords and baubles, I was extremely sceptical of HBADA’s "Automotive grade", AI-based smart lumbar system. Surely nobody actually needs an artificial intelligence to manage the placement of their lumbar support. And even if they did, what would it actually do?

As it turns out, the X7’s application of machine learning is high-tech for a chair, but relatively simple by today’s AI standards. The automatic adjustment works by, firstly, using magnetic sensors to detect the amount of pressure you’re placing on the lumbar support at any given time. The chair then reacts accordingly, either retracting the lumbar support, or extending it. The idea is to respond to your movements, so regardless of whether you’re pressed back in your seat, relaxed, and lounging, or pushed right forward, engaged and furiously mouse-clicking, your lower back should get the appropriate amount of support.

Ultimately, it’s less some kind of large language model for your back, and more just a smart pressure sensor. Still useful, still effective - for me, anyway - but if there’s anything truly artificially intelligent about this chair, it likely falls outside the modern colloquialism. ChatGPT on wheels, this is not.

Regardless of whether you find that a disappointment or a relief, the X7’s pressure responsiveness, built-in kneading massager, and heating element combine to form a piece of swivelly furniture that I found genuinely useful for maintaining comfort while I played and worked. In the process, it even taught me a little something new about my seated posture. Not immediately, granted, but then that proved to be my own fault.

It may not have helped that I began my relationship with the X7 by giggling at it. "Come and try this", I laughed to my wife, almost immediately after getting it out of the wrapping. As I had done moments before, she sat on the chair, got comfortable, and then I switched on the smart lumbar support. It proceeded to push her forward to its full extent, almost shoving her off the chair.

It was ridiculous. Trying to give the smart system the most legroom to show me what it could do, I used the tethered remote control to manually adjust the sensitivity of the lumbar support to its lowest setting, then switched over to the smart system. Invariably it would just extend to its fullest, leaving me leaning backwards just to contact the back rest.

This seemed to happen no matter if I had it on its lowest sensitivity, highest, or anywhere in between. If I flexed my abdominals and drove backwards into it, sure the rest would slink backwards like a shy dog, but as soon as I relaxed my posture, it would push forward again. If I remained half tense in my positioning, I could feel the motors and sensors fighting to figure out where to put me. They’d make little rumbling noises as they adjusted and tweaked and… ultimately just pushed me forward again.

Maybe I was just too small or too light for a chair like this? Maybe this whole AI thing was just a smokescreen for a dumb motorised lumbar system? Maybe my spine is so warped by bad chairs that it doesn't curve like it’s supposed to?

But no, it was all down to user error. My previous office chair, y'see, only had a static lumbar support. One that at 5'5" (on a good day), I’m too short for. Thus, it sat a little higher on my back than it should have done. I made the same mistake with the HBADA X7, successfully defeating the purpose of its adjustable support.

It’s not a foolproof system, then, but when I slid the support down to its lowest setting - as befits a person of my stature - I began to understand what all the techno-fuss was about. Whereas other office and gaming chairs might have manually adjustable lumbar supports, they’re still static once in place, taking a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t move as you do. Leaning or shifting around loses you the support, and with it, the posture benefits.

The X7 is more proactive. When I’m sitting normally it presses into my lower back until it’s supported, then holds its position. If I lean forward, it does too, and if I push back deeper into the chair, it relaxes, maintaining a consistent support and pressure on just the right spots. Again, it feels more like old-fashioned sensors and motors than an artificial intelligence at work, but work it most certainly does.

One catch is that it can also support bad posture, especially at its stiffer setting. If I slump down in the chair, or don’t push myself back into the seat properly, it’ll hold me up in something approximating comfort. But that’s a terrible posture to maintain, and if I stay there too long I’m going to do my middle-age back some real harm that no expensive chair, AI-aided or otherwise, is going to fix.

Still, if I sit myself properly, ensure my shoulders aren't rolled forward, and have my forearms resting at the appropriate 90 degrees, it’s very comfortable and extremely supportive. Only when I’ve been correctly shaped, it would seem, have I released how badly supported my lower back has been. That’s a good thing to know for the future, where I can now be pretty confident about avoiding new back problems. The ones caused by chair-sitting habits, at least.

Some of the X7’s other luxuries get to shine, too. The built-in massager, for one, is much better than most vibration massagers, actually rotating and kneading my lower back. I wish it could go a little lower, as I tend to get knots closer to my pelvis, but it’s still a nice addition. The heating element also works with it in tandem, and the fact that both engage automatically after a period of time is great when I’m in the mouse-and-keyboard zone and therefore not paying close attention to my back health.

The seat-mounted fans are a little loud, especially at higher settings. But assuming British summers in the mid-thirties Celsius really are the new normal, I can see these coming in real handy in a sweaty office full of high-wattage gaming gear. Elsewhere, the side wings are comfortable on my back, though my elbows hit them when I try to tuck them into a perfect posture. The lean-back auto-tensioning is too loose to really use it unlocked, too, and the headrest is quite wieldy. Compared to the rest of the chair, it seems clunky and imprecise. I don’t need another AI motor system there, but it stands out compared to the rest as rather basic and unnecessary.

Since, however, the main event lumbar support is capable of literally improving your health, I’d say it makes up for some of the nice-to-haves not quite living up to the price tag. The former is genuinely useful in a way that I really didn’t think it would be, and although it has the scent of AI gimmickry about it - I don’t know if HBADA would even bother to call it "AI", were it not the 2026 fashion to do so – it is smarter than any lumbar support I’ve used in the past. The most effective, too, and certainly the most reactive.

For a home office drone like me, who spends a lot of time standing to avoid potential back issues, the X7 has been good for both my posture and my peace of mind. There’s still improvements that could be made, but if you want a chair that values your wellbeing above all else, the HBADA X7 is worth saving up for.