Bumble announced on Thursday that it is adding a series of AI-driven features intended to help turn matches into lasting connections. These include tools that offer feedback and guidance on users’ bios, photos, and prompts.
The dating app’s new AI-suggested profile guidance tool will roll out globally and provide personalized, actionable feedback on users’ bios and prompts. For users in the United States, this feature can be augmented with an AI photo feedback tool, which is designed to help users choose their best photos and present their most authentic selves.
According to Bumble’s explanation of these features, the insights from these AI tools do not appear particularly groundbreaking. For example, the AI photo tool might suggest removing photos where sunglasses cover your face or recommend adding a wider variety of images, such as photos taken outdoors or with friends. This is advice one could have easily received from a friend years ago, but it remains new information for many users.
In Canada, Bumble is testing another, non-AI feature called “Suggest a Date.” When a conversation stalls, a user can signal that they are open to meeting in person. The company describes this as a simple way to indicate readiness to connect offline.
Of course, another way for people to signal readiness to connect offline is to literally ask someone on a date. But realistically, users often hesitate to take that step. Having an in-app way to indicate interest may motivate some potential couples to move their conversation into real life.
Bumble’s Chief Technology Officer, Vivek Sagi, stated that the “Suggest a Date” feature creates a clear expression of intent and gives members a way to bypass traditional back-and-forth messaging. The goal is to reduce friction at key moments, helping people connect with clarity and confidence and increasing the likelihood of meaningful offline relationships.
Bumble and other popular dating apps, like Match Group’s Tinder and Hinge, have all embraced AI-powered features in recent months. For instance, Hinge introduced a tool in December to help generate more interesting conversation starters than a simple “How are you?”
Tinder may take things a step further. In Australia, Tinder is piloting a tool called Chemistry, which asks users to provide the app with access to their camera roll. This requires a concerning amount of data to feed into an AI tool. Based on a user’s camera roll and answers to questions, the AI aims to learn about interests and personality to reduce swipe fatigue and suggest better matches.
Meta’s Facebook Dating tool does something similar. In October, it launched a feature that asks to use its AI on photos in your camera roll that you have not yet shared, in order to suggest AI edits.
As these companies try to develop new ways to keep users happy, some young people have given up on online dating altogether. Instead, they are seeking more real-world experiences that are not intermediated by an app.