AI love you: now bots will write profiles and flirt on dating apps

AI bots will soon be rolled out on dating apps to flirt with people, craft messages on users' behalf and write their profiles for them.

- Siân Boyle

But depending on artificial intelligence to foster budding relationships risks eroding what little human authenticity is left on dating platforms, experts have warned.

Match Group, the technology company with the world’s largest portfolio of dating platforms, including Tinder and Hinge, has announced it is increasing investment in AI, with new products due this month. AI bots will be used to help users choose photographs, write messages to people and provide “effective coaching for struggling users”.

But those “struggling users” who may be lacking in social skills, and begin to rely on AI assistants to craft conversations for them, may have difficulty once they arrive on real-life dates. This could lead to anxiety and further retreat into the comfort of the digital space, a group of academics has claimed. It could also erode the trust users have in the authenticity of others. Who is using AI and who is a genuine, flesh-and-blood human tapping away behind the screen?