Meta Introduces AI Assistant to Facebook Dating for Personalized Matchmaking and Combatting Swipe Fatigue
Facebook’s parent company Meta unveiled plans on Monday to integrate an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant into its dating platform. The chatbot aims to assist users in finding more compatible matches, tailored to their preferences. For instance, the AI may suggest potential partners based on specific criteria such as “a tech-savvy individual from Brooklyn.” Users can also utilize the AI to refine their profiles.
Meta is also introducing a new feature called ‘Meet Cute’ aimed at alleviating the issue of swipe fatigue by offering weekly surprise matches selected by its algorithm.
According to Meta, there has been a 10% year-on-year growth in dating matches among adults aged between 18 and 29 using Facebook Dating, with hundreds of thousands of new users joining the platform monthly. While this figure pales in comparison to competitors like Tinder (with approximately 50 million daily active users) and Hinge (boasting 10 million daily active users), AI features have become increasingly commonplace in mainstream dating apps.
Even newer platforms like Sitch have sought to distinguish themselves through their AI capabilities. Match Group, the proprietor of Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, among others, partnered with OpenAI last year as part of its substantial investment in artificial intelligence—a strategic move considering Match Group’s stock price decline by about 68% over the past five years.
The partnership has already led to various AI-driven features on Tinder, such as an AI photo selector tool that scans a user’s camera roll for suitable profile images, and AI-powered matching. Hinge offers a feature allowing users to enhance their responses to profile prompts with AI assistance. Bumble has implemented similar AI features, with founder Whitney Wolfe Herd suggesting in the past that one day, users could potentially employ personal “AI concierges” to gauge compatibility with other users’ AI-powered counterparts during dates.
