Meta launches chatbot and algorithmic matching features as dating apps race to integrate artificial intelligence.
Meta announced Monday that it's rolling out an AI-powered dating assistant to Facebook Dating, marking the social media giant's entry into the increasingly competitive AI-enhanced dating landscape. The new features, aimed at reducing "swipe fatigue," come as traditional dating apps struggle with declining user engagement and mounting financial pressures.
The dating assistant, a chatbot within Facebook Dating, will help users find matches based on specific interests and preferences that go beyond traditional filters like height or education. "Find me a Brooklyn girl in tech," Meta suggested as an example prompt in its announcement. The AI can also provide dating ideas and offer tips to improve user profiles.
Alongside the chatbot, Meta is introducing "Meet Cute," a feature that delivers weekly surprise matches using the platform's personalized algorithm. Users can chat with the suggested match or pass, with the option to adjust frequency or opt out entirely.
Growing Youth Engagement
The timing appears strategic. Facebook Dating matches among adults ages 18 to 29 have increased 10% year-over-year, with hundreds of thousands of young adults in the US and Canada creating Facebook Dating profiles every month, according to Meta. However, these numbers pale in comparison to competitors—Tinder has about 50 million daily active users, and Hinge's 10 million daily active users.
The features will begin rolling out gradually in the US and Canada, with the dating assistant accessible through the Matches tab. Meta emphasized that unlike many competitors, Facebook Dating remains free, with no locked features requiring payment.
Industry-Wide AI Arms Race
Meta's move follows similar AI integrations across the dating app industry. Match Group — the owner of Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, and others — entered a partnership with OpenAI last year, which is part of the dating giant's $20 million-plus investment in AI. The partnership brought over 1,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses to Match Group employees.
"Integrating ChatGPT Enterprise into our workflow has been like adding a pinch of magic into our daily tasks," said Will Wu, Match Group's Chief Technology Officer, in February. The company has since rolled out features including an AI photo selector tool to Tinder, which scans your camera roll to help choose profile images, as well as AI-powered matching.
Hinge has introduced AI-powered features that let users improve their responses to profile prompts, while developing what it calls an AI-powered dating coach. Even newer platforms are differentiating themselves through AI, with Grindr planning to fully roll out its AI "wingman" tool by 2027.
Market Pressures Drive Innovation
The rush toward AI comes amid significant challenges for the dating apps sector. Match Group has lost about 68% of its stock price in the last five years, according to financial data. The company's shares fell nearly 4% on Monday following Meta's announcement, with competitor Bumble dropping 3.3%.
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd warned employees earlier this month that she was "worried" the company may not exist next year without significant cost reductions. She cautioned that dating apps were "feeling like a thing of the past".
The industry faces fundamental challenges beyond financial metrics. Younger users report fatigue with perceived superficial interactions and growing concerns about authenticity—ironically, the very issues AI integration might exacerbate.
Privacy and Authenticity Concerns
While Meta positions these features as solutions to dating fatigue, critics question whether AI assistance might further erode authenticity in online dating. The Engadget report noted sarcastically that "surely everyone will use it in a mature, responsible, not-at-all-creepy fashion" when discussing the dating assistant's capabilities.
The ethical implications are significant. AI-generated profiles and conversations could make it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine human interaction from algorithmic engagement. Some platforms, like Bumble, have even floated the concept of AI "concierges" that could potentially date other people's AI assistants to determine compatibility—a vision that has drawn considerable criticism.
For now, Facebook Dating's AI assistant begins its gradual rollout, joining an industry-wide experiment in algorithmically enhanced romance—one where the line between human chemistry and artificial intelligence grows.
