AI wants to find you a date.

The big picture: Established dating apps and startups are using AI to overcome swipe fatigue.

• Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd teased the app's AI assistant "Bee" coming later this year in an interview with Axios.

Meanwhile, Amata coordinates some 2,000 first dates a month. Users who agree to the AI matchmaker's pairing purchase a $20 "date token," and the app plans the details.

Another approach: With Joey AI, there's no swiping. There's not even an app. It starts with a phone call between an interested single and their AI matchmaker.

In an Australian accent, the AI asks your name, job and basic dating preferences, and then goes deeper: How important is politics in your relationships? What time did you wake up today? How often have you talked with your family this week?

• After users are verified and photos are shared, Joey connects hopeful romantics via text.

For startup Known, users talk to an AI matchmaker and pay $15 to secure their real-life hang.

• The goal, says co-founder and CEO Celeste Amadon, is to feel like you're being introduced by a friend who understands you "but knows everybody in your city instead of a couple hundred people."

The bottom line: AI can help arrange a date, but the rest is up to humans.

Singles see AI as a dating tool, not a dating prospect, according to new Match Group data.

• Many draw a line at substituting chatbots for human relationships.

By the numbers: Match Group — the owner of Tinder, Hinge, Match.com and others — surveyed approximately 1,000 U.S. singles ages 18 to 39 about AI, dating and relationships.

• 74% say they use ChatGPT and roughly 64% say AI helps create a stronger dating profile, make conversation and plan dates.

Yes, but: Nearly half of those surveyed view AI negatively in the context of romantic relationships.

• Two in five say they would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app. Among women ages 18 to 24, that rises to 51%.

Reality check: Most Americans remain largely uninterested in falling for a bot.

• According to Pew Research data, very few are turning to chatbots for emotional support (10%) or companionship (4%).

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Since the pandemic, people looking for love have soured on swiping.

• But approaching and connecting with strangers in real life is a different skill — and for many daters, a rusty one.

By the numbers: Singles events on Eventbrite doubled from 2022 to 2025, according to data shared with Axios.

People are looking for love at running clubs, private dinners — even wrestling speed dating. They're playing beer pong tournaments and giving PowerPoint presentations to pitch their single friends.

Zoom in: George Rawlings, co-founder of dating app Thursday, is betting that singles are ready to meet face-to-face.

• His platform, which is now active in nearly 200 cities worldwide (including Portland), hosts curated events, from bar takeovers to pottery classes to ski trips.

Take three simple steps to getting out more:

⏰ Block the time. Reserve "two social days a week for the next month," says Maria Avgitidis, CEO of executive matchmaking service Agape Match.

✨ Leave room for spontaneity. Before COVID, getting unplanned, after-work drinks was common. Now it's less so.

• Pack whatever you need to transition from day to night. When an invite comes up, say yes. Better yet: Initiate.

🤝 Volunteer. Showing up at a regular volunteer function twice a month could lead to more invites — and a whole new social circle.

One demographic is just discovering the swipe: seniors.

Why it matters: As more older Americans live longer and increasingly alone, they're looking for love the new-fashioned way.

Zoom in: Apps including Match and OurTime "provide access and opportunity that may not exist organically in everyday life, especially after retirement, relocation, divorce or the loss of a partner," says Michael Kaye, director of communications at Match.com.

• AARP calls Match the best site for "serious relationships" for seniors.

By the numbers: Most adults 65+ are not longtime dating app users, per a UserTesting survey of 217 U.S. adults in this age group.

• 60% started using dating apps within the past three years. 30% started within the past year.

How to get started:

📸 Build an honest profile with recent photos.

💸 Don't send money or share financial details.

• Meet in public places for first dates. Tell a friend or family member about your plans.

🙊 Avoid sharing too much personal information early.

Friction point: AI advancements are making it much easier for scammers to create fake profiles.

• Nearly 1 in 10 adults over 50 say they've had an online romantic connection that turned into a request for money or crypto, according to AARP data.

The bottom line: Older daters may be late to the apps, but they're arriving as dating platforms are being forced to solve their oldest problem: figuring out who's real.