The dating app wars just got more complicated. According to a study from Match Group—the mega-company behind Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid—nearly half of American singles view AI in romance negatively.
Match surveyed 1,000 people aged 18 to 39 and found that 47% view AI's role in dating negatively. The opposition is sharper among young women: 51% of women aged 18 to 24 say they'd refuse to date someone using an AI companion app.
The contradiction is stark. Only 12% of that same age group has actually used a companion app in the past three months—and of those users, most weren't even looking for real connections with the bots.
While dating apps like Bumble (with its assistant "Bee") and Tinder are betting on AI, singles are drawing a firm line. Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd even suggested users could have personal bots that date other bots. The internet rejected the idea.
There is one bright spot for app developers: 64% of respondents said they'd welcome AI help with the tedious parts—sprucing up profiles, picking the best photos, keeping conversations alive when things get awkward.
Match's data shows singles want AI as a tool, not a substitute. They'll use it to improve their dating profile or break an uncomfortable silence, but they want the actual connection—the spark, the chemistry—to be human.
As Match put it: "Help with the hard parts, but hands off for the human parts."
"My bot asked your bot out and they hit it off" will never be an acceptable way to meet someone.
