aDating app Bumble is teasing major changes to its product after years of declining users and a depressed stock price. But solving one problem can quickly lead to another. The company told Axios this month that it would be discontinuing Swipe, the mainstay of its dating app. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said the feature made it easy for people to flip through photos carelessly, resulting in a user experience with too many dead-end conversations. Going forward, she said, Bumble will focus on features that enable deeper, more meaningful connections. That is the AI assistant “Bee”.
It’s still unclear what exactly Bee will do, but its responsibilities include enhancing users’ profiles by suggesting better options for photos and personal blurbs. Bumble says it uses AI to chat with people about their dating preferences and also helps find people with similar “values.”
Bumble, known at the time of its launch as the only major dating app that didn’t allow men to initiate private messages in an effort to empower women, is not alone in its struggles. Consumer technology companies are being told by consultants and people from Silicon Valley that they urgently need to integrate AI into their products to succeed. Otherwise, you could find yourself in conflict with investors who expect your company to continue growing indefinitely.
But if you do it sloppily, it can turn consumers away. Recent attempts by dating apps and their users to weave generative AI into courtship have met with questionable results. Rizz, an app named after Gen Z slang for “charismatic,” promises to help users woo romantic partners by replacing real-life interactions with AI-generated responses. The app store is flooded with positive reviews from users who claim that Rizz has helped them fool unsuspecting partners.
When Tinder rolled out an AI-powered “game” in 2025 that it claimed would help people hone their flirting skills, I tested it for the Washington Post. I spoke loudly into my phone’s microphone and flirted through a series of interactions with the AI-generated men. When I was polite, the app prompted me to cool down. When I teased them, they deducted points for being “weird.” This is a reminder that AI systems will replicate any strange or unfair dynamics they find in their training data.
Some dating app users have found themselves suffering from AI paranoia, unsure whether the person they’re messaging is relying on a chatbot to make them sound attractive. The internet is full of allegations of AI-generated pick-up lines, break-up messages, and marriage vows.
Bumble’s story is a broader consumer technology story. Millennial entrepreneurs have been told that all they need to tackle wicked systemic problems is an app with a cute brand and an investor-friendly value proposition. Democratization and convenience were the North Stars, and startups rushed to eliminate friction in everything from ordering takeout to finding love.
But as life became increasingly frictionless, it began to feel like a long slide toward meaninglessness. Young professionals are beginning to realize that while they can afford endless on-demand dinner deliveries, their chances of paying off college debt or owning a home are fading. Millions of young singles are finding that the unlimited options promised by dating apps are actually making them lonelier than ever. According to a 2024 Forbes survey, nearly 80% of dating app users say they’ve felt “emotionally, mentally, or physically drained” at least once while using the service.
How can something that isn’t so difficult end up burning us out even more? Maybe it’s because the intermittent dopamine surges from dating apps have never replaced the rich, impossible process of learning who we are and how we love.
Now, companies like Bumble are considering that the promise of enjoying the pleasures of sex and romance at the swipe of a finger is no longer possible. Doing away with swiping and hype AI may sound great in an investor report, but if the goal is still to provide users with a smooth, mindless path to connection, it doesn’t solve the problems that make modern dating so unfun.
There are also broader issues, such as increasing social exclusion, the decline of marriage, and the mainstreaming of online misogyny, that are far more complex than an app with a bumblebee logo can solve.
A frictionless life couldn’t make us happier. Now, technology company executives are proposing a new solution. Perhaps all the gloom would be alleviated if we let AI take the wheel. When will we be able to stop listening?
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