Will AI Transform Online Dating?

'Dating apps are on the cusp of a major transformation,' argues CNN, suggesting AI-powered possibilities like 'personalized chatbots dating other chatbots on your behalf,' as well as 'AI concierges fielding questions about potential matches,' and 'advanced algorithms predicting compatibility better than ever before.'

At its investor day last week, executives from Match Group — the parent company of Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Our Time and more — teased plans to use AI to improve user experiences and help make better connections. Justin McLeod, CEO of Hinge, outlined how the company intends to fully embrace AI next year: more personalized matching, smarter algorithms that adapt to users and better understand them over time and AI coaching for struggling daters. 'While AI is not going to be a panacea when it comes to the very deeply and personal problem of love, I can tell you that it is going to transform the dating app experience, taking it from a do-it-yourself platform to an expertly guided journey that leads to far better outcomes and much better value to our daters,' he told investors....

It's already starting to play a bigger role. Tinder, for example, uses AI to help users select their best profile photos. Meanwhile, Bumble's recently enhanced 'For You' roundup uses advanced AI when delivering its daily set of four curated profiles based on a user's preferences and past matches. Bumble also uses AI in safety features like its Private Detector — an AI-powered tool that blurs explicit images — and Deception Detector, which identifies spam, scams and fake profiles. Similarly, Match Group offers tools like buttons that say 'Are You Sure?' to detect harmful language and 'Does This Bother You?' to prompt users to report inappropriate behavior....

According to Liesel Sharabi, an associate professor at Arizona State University's Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, the dating industry is still 'very much in the early stages' of embracing AI. 'The platforms are still figuring out its role in the online dating experience, but it really does have the potential to transform this space....' Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd previously said she envisions AI functioning as a dating concierge, helping users navigate matches, set up dates and respond to messages. Startups such as Volar and Rizz have already experimented with chatbots that help respond to messages. On Rizz, users upload screenshots of conversations they're having on other dating apps, and the platform helps create flirty replies. (Volar, a standalone dating app that trains on users' preferences and automatically responds to other chatbots, shut down in September due to lack of funding.) While the concept of chatbots dating on your behalf may seem strange, it could reduce the tedious early-stage communication by focusing more on highly compatible matches, Sharabi said...

During Match Group's investor day, Hinge's McLeod announced plans to build the 'world's most knowledgeable dating coach' using years of insights from the dating process... McLeod said Hinge has already seen a higher number of matches and subscription renewals with its improved AI algorithm among early test groups. It plans to roll this out globally in March.
And of course, some users are already using ChatGPT to write online dating profiles or respond to messages, the article points out...

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