Using AI Companion Apps Gives Many Singles the Ick, Survey Finds

Most singles looking for love aren’t interested in building a romantic connection with an AI chatbot. 

A new study from Match Group, the dating company behind popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, found that nearly half (47%) of the roughly 1,000 people ages 18-39 it surveyed “view AI in romantic contexts negatively.” And it’s a hard pass for most singles if you’re interested in AI companion apps, like Kindroid and Replika. Two in five singles aged 18 to 39 refuse to date someone who uses these apps, including over half (51%) of women aged 18 to 24, according to Match Group’s findings.

Finding love with AI can be tricky, whether you’re using AI to keep you from saying the wrong thing to a new connection, spruce up your dating profile or act as your soulmate to help you practice for the big moment (which we don’t advise, more on which below).

Despite all the ways you can use AI on the dating scene, singles have some serious concerns. Most singles in the survey said they use AI for everyday productivity tasks, but when it comes to dating, the bots can’t tag along for the ride. Most want purely human connections. 

Most singles don’t want someone interested in an AI companion

AI is creeping into personal relationships more than in the past. Imagine going to ChatGPT to decide who is right in an argument with your spouse. Or even dating a bot. It’s not far-fetched when there are AI apps that resemble personal relationships. Some even have avatars. 

The Match Group survey found that dating an AI bot is a no-go for singles — 4 to 1 opposed. The survey found that only 12% of singles have tried companion apps in the past three months — mainly to try something new, not as a substitute for finding love. Most used them for boredom and entertainment (45%), and roleplay and simulation (43%). Fewer used AI to build a genuine connection (38%) or process emotions (26%). 

Instead of relying on bots, singles are getting advice from friends and family (60% respectively), whereas only 20% are using AI. That’s not surprising, considering a study published in March in the journal Science found AI is more likely to agree with you and less likely to help with things like repairing relationships. The study shows you may depend on AI more instead. 

Michael Salas, a relationship therapist, agrees that seeking advice from family and friends rather than AI is a better move. Salas tested using AI on a complicated situation he was having with a friend, and the bot’s response may surprise you. 

“It told me this friend clearly didn’t care about me. Verbatim, it told me this,” says Salas. “This wasn’t something I was even questioning, and I know it was wrong. When I told it that, it immediately course-corrected, told me I was right, and shifted to a new framework. That’s not wisdom.” 

Salas advises being careful when using AI in dating. “I think you really have to be careful because it will take liberties and give advice that is incorrect or unwarranted. Save that for actual people who know you. Ask them instead.” Instead, Salas recommends using AI for editing and generating ideas, like ways to show someone you care — not as a substitute for humans. 

Using AI for dating has limitations

Match found that most (74%) singles ages 18 to 39 use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, regularly. And 69% use AI for productivity tasks like summaries, problem solving and writing content. Most find their use of AI positive across several use cases. But not when it comes to finding love. 

There are some exceptions. Over half (64%) can see AI helping them find love, like helping keep a conversation going and building a stronger profile (27%), starting a conversation (26%) and planning a date (27%). Some AI features already lean toward those preferences, like Tinder’s AI-powered matching to get connection suggestions based on your interests and camera roll (if you allow it). And there are date-planning apps, like the Date Idea Generator and My Spicy Vanilla. And Hinge debuted Convo Starters to ease the pressure of sending the first message. 

It all still boils down to how comfortable singles feel about using AI to help with matchmaking. Based on Match Group’s survey findings, the percentage using AI assistance remains below half across many use cases, making it clear that most people don’t want bots meddling in their love lives. 

It’ll be interesting to see how Match Group alters or creates AI features for its dating apps in the future based on these findings and how singles respond. Match Group didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.