When 27-year-old Cleo Chua met a man on dating app OkCupid last November, he seemed like quite a catch. Compared with some of the other profiles she had matched with previously, the 30-year-old seemed pretty different. He had a well-thought out dating profile biography, was eloquent over text and responded to her in full sentences. They had no issues keeping the conversation flowing, and after a few hours, they decided to move over to messaging app Telegram.Once they were away from the dating app's messaging platform, the red flags immediately started to appear. Every message he sent had an em dash and was italicised, which are traits commonly associated with AI-generated messages.
"At first, I thought he was speaking very formally but then the italicised words made me question if he had been using AI to talk to me," said Ms Chua, who works as an analyst.Before she could ask him what was going on, he gave up the pretence and started texting as himself. His well-crafted sentences gave way to broken English.When she confronted him, he replied: "Because am lazy to text msg (sic)".Said Ms Chua, who no longer uses dating apps: "I was shocked and annoyed, because I didn't even realise people would use AI to text. "I felt I was being misled." The introduction of online dating apps in the last decade or so has given singles the promise of finding "the one" through easier connections from an instant and wide pool of possibilities. But with convenience came complications including fake profiles, catfishing and superficial connections.Dating apps have begun offering AI tools on their platforms. While most of these tools are for user safety and to give users better profile matches to swipe on, some of these AI-powered features are also for users to use directly on their apps.While Tinder initially introduced an AI tool that helped enhance photos, the tool was put on pause in July this year after it had altered some users' appearances.Earlier this year, dating app Coffee Meets Bagel rolled out an AI tool that offers personalised prompts for conversations based on someone's profile. It had conducted a survey in November 2025 of more than 1,000 working professionals in Singapore aged 21 to 35 and found that about nine in 10 are open to using AI in their dating lives.But this openness to AI did come with some caveats. Some 87 per cent wanted control over how and when it was used, while 77 per cent were also concerned that it would make dating feel less authentic."That tells us people are not rejecting AI but are asking for thoughtful boundaries," said Mr Jason Teo, head of product for the platform. Beyond AI tools appearing as add-ons in dating apps, some users are independently using these large language models to plan dates, craft messages and decode messages from matches.Dating app users whom CNA TODAY spoke to were mixed in their views when asked how extensive a role AI should play in finding love online. Some felt it had made it harder to find an authentic match and build a real connection, while others defended such tools because they had helped them navigate otherwise tricky situations. "WHAT A TURN OFF"In the "no" camp when it comes to AI use when dating is Ms Mitch Sene, 24, who immediately swipes left if she sees traces of AI being used in a profile's bio. She said she has also seen profiles clearly written by AI, which are devoid of personality, as well as AI-generated profile photos in the style of Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli."AI is a turnoff for me. If you had confidence, you would be putting your own photo," said the undergraduate, echoing the sentiments of other singles who spoke to CNA TODAY. "How can you trust someone who won't put their true self forward?"
