A San Francisco matchmaker is encouraging tech founders to bring business metrics like "conversion rate" and "top of funnel" into their romantic lives.
Here's what to know
Matchmaker Joyce Zhang works with tech founders whose dating habits increasingly involve chatbots, according to Gizmodo, which cited reporting from The New York Times and The Guardian.
For some clients, seeking Zhang's help comes after extensive AI analysis of their own romantic histories, The Times reported. As Gizmodo noted, Zhang "considers it her job to re-teach them the concept of intuition," with "top of funnel" referring to the dating pool and "conversion rate" referring to the number of dates.
The trend extends beyond San Francisco. A Match Group survey of 3,000 British singles found that 39% reported using AI in their dating lives, according to The Guardian. Among Gen Z respondents, that figure reached 66%.
Packed work schedules leave some tech entrepreneurs struggling to find time for dating, per The Times. At singles events, meanwhile, attendees introduce their friends through presentations styled as startup pitches.
More background
AI already plays a behind-the-scenes role in dating services. Gizmodo reported that Grindr and Tinder rely on AI coding, while dating apps have long used algorithmic AI to help users find potential matches.
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Messages written with chatbots, however, add another layer between people hoping to connect.
One 51-year-old man interviewed by The Guardian described using AI to reduce the effort involved in dating. The chatbot encouraged him to meet his eventual partner despite his reservations about her photos.
Gizmodo reported that the couple later discovered each had relied on Claude when composing messages to the other.
What's being done?
Zhang emphasizes intuition. Gizmodo noted that, according to The Times, Zhang said she feels it's her job to re-teach clients how to use it in the chatbot landscape.
Yoel Roth, who oversees trust and safety at Match, told The Guardian that the company maintains a "hard stance" against replacing human connection with exchanges between bots. His position addresses situations like that of the couple who both used Claude to compose their messages.
"In a world where people say that they're more alienated than ever, are hungrier for connection than ever, we don't get closer to that goal of human connection by having robots talk to each other," Roth told The Guardian, according to Gizmodo.
Where can I learn more?
The use of AI in dating raises questions about trust that extend beyond romance as skepticism toward the tech grows.
• In Brazil, a bricklayer sold everything for romance, then learned the woman was AI.
• Meta's Muse AI tracks people's inner circles, including where friends live and their interests.
• Tavus says nearly half of users mistook its AI for humans, raising concerns about deception.
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