AI-powered dating is all the rage. IRL cruising is the future

I am, certainly, a great flirt. I like everything that concerns exchange and getting to know another person. The playful joke. The dopamine rush. The sexual subtlety and subtext of everything left unsaid. Flirting, to me, remains one of the last human activities where people intentionally try to find common ground. It is pure possibility, absolute magnetism. It is also an art that cannot be simulated or, despite Silicon Valley’s best efforts, perfected by AI.

Of course, that didn’t stop Big Dating from going all-in virtual intimacy this year, in which the focus shifted from endless swipes to AI-powered matchmaking. As the narrative around dating fatigue reached new heights, the trend toward sincere connection was a long-overdue correction by an industry that, over the past decade, has built itself on ruthless scale, maniacal ambition and profit incentivesonly to realize that the answer was right in front of them all along: you win by investing in people.

Integrating AI tools wasn’t just about keeping up with the Joneses or relying on new innovations (although that was part of that). For once, it wasn’t just talk: Big Dating was seeking absolution for its sins.

Where dating apps once conspired to retain users by any means necessary, AI offered the opportunity to connect people faster and, perhaps, forever. This has led many companies to reconsider their user experience. According to a Pew research center study A few years ago, in the United States, almost 60 percent of single adults said they were not currently looking for a relationship or casual dates. And while we’re not exactly in a romantic recession, the number of active users remains high; not to mention that Facebook dating is a secret success among Gen Z: overall user engagement across multiple apps, according to analytics firm Apptopia, has decreased by 7 percent year after year. (Yes, even despite a Belgian artist’s bizarre attempt to match people based on their browser history.)

This isn’t a crisis or anything like that – tens of millions of people continue to swipe, scroll and, daily – Big Dating just desperately needed to repair its reputation. AI seemed to be an answer.

In October, Three day rulethe veteran matchmaking service, launched a matchmaker-trained AI app called Tai that offers real-time coaching. Grindr, which seeks to become the ultimate global gay universe by going “AI first” uses tools Anthropology and the Amazon on his winger function and chat summaries (although some users we were not happy on the wide adoption by the application of machine technology). Iris, RiceAnd You live has also rolled out AI features to help users navigate the initial chat stages.

In a year where everyone had Love Island United States on the brain and eager have made a comeback on social media, virtual relationships have seen record growth, as has been the case anecdotally divorces caused by AI affairs. (According to a report by TechCrunchthe AI ​​companion market has grown by more than 96% since 2024.) Tinder, meanwhile, has suffered a brand refresh and tried to attract more Gen Z users. “The biggest issue that concerns us… is the mass creation of new accounts,” Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Match Group, said to WIRED in October following the launch of Tinder’s mandatory facial verification update.