TL;DRSingles are outsourcing dating messages to ChatGPT and Claude. Match, Hinge, and Bumble are not screening for it. 26% of US adults have used AI for dating help.
Singles are feeding their dating app conversations into ChatGPT and Claude, asking the models to write replies, analyse what went wrong, and generate opening lines. The practice, called “chatfishing,” has produced a 5,000% spike in Google searches and a growing trail of Reddit posts and TikTok confessionals. Twenty-six per cent of US adults, and 49% of Gen Z daters, have used AI for dating help, from selecting photos to writing bios and composing messages, according to a Match Group and Kinsey Institute report.
The dating platforms are doing almost nothing about it. Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff told Bloomberg that the company has not focused on the issue enough yet. “To the extent they’re using off-platform coaching, there’s not much we can do about that,” he said. Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos said the platform does not want to be “overly prescriptive” but that “it’s really important for humans to be humans.” Bumble does not screen for AI-written text. None of the three platforms have policies prohibiting AI-generated messages, only AI-manipulated photos.
