Meta announced on Monday that it is introducing an AI assistant to Facebook Dating. This chatbot is designed to help users find matches that are more closely tailored to their preferences. For instance, the AI could help a user search for “a Brooklyn girl in tech” or assist in refining their own dating profile.
The company is also aiming to combat swipe fatigue with a new feature called Meet Cute. This provides users with a weekly surprise match selected by the platform’s algorithm.
Meta reports that matches among adults aged 18 to 29 on Facebook Dating have seen a 10 percent year-over-year growth. Hundreds of thousands of users in this age group create profiles each month. However, this user base is small compared to competitors like Tinder, which has approximately 50 million daily active users, and Hinge, which has about 10 million.
AI features are now commonplace in mainstream dating apps. Even newer apps attempt to differentiate themselves with AI. Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, Hinge, and OKCupid, entered a partnership with OpenAI last year. This is part of the dating giant’s investment of over 20 million dollars in AI technology. This represents a significant bet, particularly considering Match Group’s financial challenges. The company has laid off staff and has seen its stock price decline by about 68 percent over the last five years.
So far, this investment has led to features like an AI photo selector on Tinder, which scans a user’s camera roll to recommend profile pictures. The company has also tested AI-powered matching. Hinge has introduced a feature that uses AI to help users improve their responses to profile prompts.
Bumble has added similar AI features. The company’s founder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, sparked discussion last year by suggesting a future where users might have personal AI concierges. These AI agents could potentially go on dates with other users’ AI to determine compatibility.