Companion AI use is a dating dealbreaker, Match survey says

Some singles, especially young women, see dating an AI bot as a red flag, new findings suggest.

A new survey from Match Group, the dating app conglomerate that owns Tinder, Hinge, and other apps, found that 47 percent view AI in romantic contexts negatively. Two in five singles aged 18 to 39 say they'd refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app — and that number jumps to 51 percent for women aged 18 to 24.

Twelve percent of 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed reported using a companion AI app in the past three months. Of those, the biggest reason why was boredom and entertainment (45 percent), followed by 43 percent for roleplay and simulation. Some, 38 percent, did use it to build a "genuine connection," and 26 percent used it to process their emotions.

Match found that when singles are using AI, it's mostly for practical tasks. Nearly 75 percent of singles aged 18 to 39 use tools like ChatGPT regularly, and 69 percent rely on it mainly for productivity.

Only 20 percent of respondents (approximately 1,000 U.S. singles aged 18 to 39 were surveyed between April 13 and May 8, 2026), use AI for personal advice. That's only two percent less than the 22 percent of singles who go to a professional therapist for this. The majority, 60 percent, go to friends, and the same amount goes to family as well.

Despite the disdain for companion apps, though, 64 percent believe AI can help them date, such as keep a conversation going (27 percent), build a strong profile (27 percent), start a conversation (26 percent), or plan a date (24 percent).

The findings are similar to what Match Group property, Hinge, found in its Nov. 2025 report that Gen Z daters use AI tools to initiate and continue conversations.

It seems that when it comes to dating humans, singles — at least young adults — don't see an issue with using AI to chat and plan for them.

Major Match Group apps like Tinder and Hinge have added more and more AI features in the past few years, with others like Bumble doing the same as well. But Bumble recently faced online backlash after announcing it's killing the swipe and likely replacing it with a more AI-driven experience.