Online dating apps make searching for love more convenient, but discover that special people are more difficult than ever. Cute photos and simple “halo” may not be enough to help you break through the noise. That's why I feel that many of the people are sticking to saying they are looking at artificial intelligence for their assistance.
This is a study on American singles released last month by the Kinsey Institute of Indiana University dating App Match.com, where one of the four singles and almost half of Gen Z used AI to upload dating games. According to the study, 26% of Americans said they use AI to support their dating lives as a tool to create resourceful or engaging messages and filtering matches. This is an increase of 333% over a year ago.
“People are turning to AI for literally every use case you can imagine,” said Kasley Killam, an expert on social health and human connections. “And it's inevitable that people will turn to AI for coaching dates.”
It's AI dating assistants who take advantage of the trends, and they coach you about what to say to people, what tone to hit, and how to keep the conversation flowing if it hits a lull. For individuals who find writing is not a strong suit, technology can really boost their confidence.
Advice on what to say
Roman Khaves, founder of a dating assistant app called Rizz, said “charismatic” General Z Speak will provide objective advice in 24-hour issues to people who can't afford a human dating coach or who are in a pinch and cannot contact their friends.
“It's never going to sleep on you,” Khaves told CBS MoneyWatch, describing the app as “an AI wingwoman or AI wingman in your pocket.”
Rizz works by allowing users to upload screenshots of conversations from dating apps and social media. Next, Rizz suggests replies using the generated AI. The more you use Rizz, the more you understand which types of replies you will like or feel comfortable. This trains the AI model to improve over time.
According to Khaves, Rizz has a user base of around 10 million people, consisting mainly of 65% of men and 35% of women, mainly within the age range of 18-25.
Another service called Keepler, a dating-optimizing app, has features that help you navigate the scary practice known as “ghosts.”
One reason others ghosts is that they don't know about CBS MoneyWatch and Rachel Abramowitz, co-founder and CEO of Keeper, who doesn't know the best way to drop someone easily. Keeper's defense against such meaningless behavior is Keri, the app's internal relationship guide.
“What we've built is how to put your raw, unedited feedback into Keri. Keri can rewrite it for you and send it to someone else.”
For those ghosted, Keepler can ask users to request feedback from the date of disappearance directly via the app, or ask Keri to help them write messages they send themselves.
Abramowitz emphasizes that the app is not intended to provide treatment, but rather to provide support. In Keli, “I feel like there are people who are objective, people who are on your side, people who have no impure motivations and who really want you to achieve your goals,” she said.
The final generation of dating apps are also appearing in AI games. Two of the most popular dating apps, Hinge and Grindr, are taking steps to integrate AI into the platform. For example, in January, Hinge introduced rapid feedback. This is an AI feature that allows users to provide immediate feedback about their profiles when entering information.
AICEBREAKER
The growing popularity of AI dating assistants raises doubts about reliability as more users rely on technology to convey their thoughts and feelings.
One 36-year-old Rizz user who asked to remain anonymous to protect his privacy told CBS MoneyWatch that he could learn why he would use AI to find out what to say about dishonest things, but he said he was simply looking at the technology as a way to stand out from the crowd.
He also admitted that some of his dates look skeptical after revealing he's doing behind the scenes coaching from Rizz. However, he still believes the service will serve as a conversation starter.
“Personally, it's good to be able to start a conversation, get someone's attention and then become yourself,” he said.
Killam, an expert on social health and human connections, said he thinks AI dating tools are useful as long as they don't misrepresent who they are or get too close to.
“The risk is when AI is used as an alternative to human connection rather than supplementing it,” she said.
I contributed to this report.
