AI in dating statistics 2026: sourced and dated numbers

39% of US singles have used AI in their dating lives, up from 26% in 2025 and 6% in 2024, according to the Kinsey Institute and Match’s Singles in America study (2026 wave: about 5,000 singles, released 14 September 2026). Gen Z leads at 67%, men use it more than women (47% against 30%), and fewer singles now object to a match using AI for all their conversations (30%, down from 39% in 2024).

Every number below links to the study or company that published it, with its date and sample. We used primary sources only (the survey’s own release or the company’s own page), each read on 20 October 2026. Numbers that circulate widely but that we couldn’t trace to a primary source are in a separate list at the end, so you can avoid repeating them.

The key numbers

• 39% of US singles have used AI in dating; 67% of Gen Z (SIA 2026)
• 6% → 26% → 39%: singles using AI for dating in 2024, 2025 and 2026 (Singles in America)
• 30% object to a match using AI for all their conversations, down from 39% in 2024
• 34% say using AI to alter profile photos is a dealbreaker (SIA 2026)
• 27% of singles aged 18–39 could see AI helping keep a conversation going, the joint top task (Match Group, June 2026)
• 88% of Hinge daters are uncomfortable with AI-generated profile photos (Hinge, March 2026)
• 2x: Hinge likes sent with a comment are twice as likely to lead to a date (Hinge, December 2025)
• 50% vs 5%: US adults who say AI will worsen vs improve people’s ability to form meaningful relationships (Pew Research Center, September 2025)

How many singles use AI for dating?

Between a quarter and two-fifths of US singles, depending on the year and the question, and far more among young daters.

Statistic	Source (date)	Sample
39% of US singles have used AI in dating	Singles in America 2026, Kinsey Institute and Match (14 Sep 2026)	About 5,000 US singles 18+, online, March–April 2026
By generation: Gen Z 67%, Millennials 46%, Gen X 24%, Boomers 5%	Same	Same
By gender: men 47%, women 30%	Same	Same
26% of singles use AI to enhance their dating lives; “nearly half” of Gen Z singles have used it	Singles in America 2025 (10 Jun 2025)	5,001 US singles aged 18–98, collected by Dynata
6% of singles had experimented with AI to boost their dating lives; 14% of online daters	Singles in America 2024 (19 Feb 2024)	5,000+ US singles aged 18–77
76% of 18–25 year-old daters say they’d use AI in their dating journey	Tinder Year in Swipe 2025 (3 Dec 2025)	Opinium for Tinder: 4,000 actively dating 18–25 year-olds in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, Oct–Nov 2025
82% of Gen Z and 87% of Millennial daters already use AI for online dating	Hily (6 Aug 2025)	1,559 US daters via SurveyMonkey, June 2025 (vendor survey)
60% of younger Gen Z daters (18–22) are open to AI as a “virtual second opinion”	Hinge Gen Z D.A.T.E. Report (19 Nov 2025)	About 30,000 Hinge daters worldwide
“Nearly three in four” singles aged 18–39 use ChatGPT and similar tools regularly	Match Group (18 Jun 2026)	About 1,000 US singles aged 18–39, 13 April–8 May 2026

Reading the trend: Singles in America described its finding differently each year (“experimented with AI to boost their dating lives” in 2024, “using AI to enhance their dating lives” in 2025, “used AI in their dating lives” in 2026), and the 2025 and 2026 waves group generations differently. The direction is clear; the exact growth rate isn’t. The Tinder figure measures willingness (“would use”), not actual use, and Hily’s much higher numbers come from a dating app’s own survey of under-45s.

What do daters use AI for?

Mostly words: profiles, first messages and keeping chats going, with date planning close behind.

Statistic	Source (date)
Of singles who used AI for online dating, 43% used it to write their profiles and 37% to draft a first message; 32% said it helped them find better matches and meet people faster	SIA 2024 (19 Feb 2024)
Dating tasks singles aged 18–39 could see AI helping with: keeping a conversation going 27%, building a stronger profile 27%, starting a conversation 26%, planning a date 24%	Match Group (18 Jun 2026)
Most popular ways young daters would use AI: suggesting date ideas 39%, selecting their best photos 28%, providing bio prompts 28%	Tinder Year in Swipe 2025 (3 Dec 2025)
52% of Gen Z daters who use AI say they “vibe-check” messages before sending them	Hinge AI dating guide (5 Mar 2026; sample not stated)
Women (51%) and Gen Z (50%) most often use AI to create a bio; men (52%) and Millennials (47%) most often for conversation suggestions	Hily (6 Aug 2025)
44% of singles would like AI to help filter matches; 40% want help crafting a dating profile	SIA 2025 (10 Jun 2025)

How do singles feel about matches who use AI?

Most accept AI help in principle; a large minority objects when AI does the talking, and photos are the hardest line.

Statistic	Source (date)
30% object to someone using AI for all their conversations	SIA 2026 (14 Sep 2026)
39% would object to a match using AI in every conversation; nearly 50% would draw the line at a match using AI to alter their image	SIA 2024 (19 Feb 2024)
34% consider using AI to alter dating profile photos a dealbreaker	SIA 2026
30% believe AI could improve human connection; 66% say it could not replace it	SIA 2026
47% of singles aged 18–39 view AI in romantic contexts negatively, yet 64% can see AI helping their dating journey	Match Group (18 Jun 2026)
88% of Hinge daters are uncomfortable with AI-generated profile photos; 69% are comfortable or neutral about AI helping plan dates; 63% struggle with what to write on their profile	Hinge AI dating guide (5 Mar 2026; sample not stated)
54% of young female daters and 63% of male daters would be less attracted to a match they suspect used AI to create their profile	Hily (6 Aug 2025)

We look at what these attitudes mean in practice in is using AI on dating apps cheating? For using AI on your own profile without crossing those lines, see AI for your dating profile.

What does the dating apps’ own data show?

Hinge publishes the most, and its numbers favor a personal message over a generic one.

Statistic	Source (date)
Likes sent with a comment are twice as likely to lead to a date; 72% of daters are more likely to consider someone when a like includes a message	Hinge, Convo Starters launch (8 Dec 2025)
35% of daters in early testing said Convo Starters made them feel more confident reaching out	Same
In 2024, likes on text prompts were 47% more likely to lead to a date than likes on photos; 63% of daters had trouble knowing what to include on their profile	Hinge, Prompt Feedback launch (15 Jan 2025)
85% of daters are more likely to want a second date when asked thoughtful questions	Hinge Gen Z D.A.T.E. Report (19 Nov 2025)

AI companions and the bigger picture

Outside the dating apps, attitudes to AI in relationships are more skeptical, and the one independent source here, Pew, is the most skeptical of all.

Statistic	Source (date, sample)
50% of US adults say AI will worsen people’s ability to form meaningful relationships; 5% say it will improve it; 58% of adults under 30 say worse	Pew Research Center (17 Sep 2025; 5,023 US adults, 9–15 June 2025)
About two-thirds of US adults say AI should play no role in judging whether two people could fall in love	Same
Two in five singles aged 18–39 would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app (51% of women aged 18–24); 12% of 18–24 year-olds tried one in the past three months	Match Group (18 Jun 2026)
20% of singles aged 18–39 turn to AI for deeper personal advice, against 60% who turn to friends and 60% to family	Same
77% of current online daters would consider dating an AI; 78% would trust an AI relationship coach more than a friend or family member; 38% trust AI to give emotionally safe or ethical dating advice	Norton (Gen Digital), “Artificial Intimacy” (27 Jan 2026; 1,000 US adults, 24 July–11 August 2025)
44% of current online daters say they’ve been targeted by a dating scam; 74% of those targeted say they fell victim, and 38% sent money	Same

The dating apps’ AI features and rules: a dated timeline

Date	What happened
15 Jan 2025	Hinge launches Prompt Feedback, AI that rates profile answers without writing them
25 Aug 2025	Hinge’s current terms take effect, banning third-party AI tools that interact with Hinge (§2c item 22) and content “not written by you” (§2d item 11)
8 Dec 2025	Hinge launches Convo Starters in the US: AI tips, no copy-and-paste text (UK added 23 Feb 2026)
5 Mar 2026	Tinder’s current terms take effect, banning third-party apps that interact with Tinder “including but not limited to artificial intelligence or machine learning systems” (§2c item 22)
12 Mar 2026	Tinder’s product keynote: parts of AI-powered Chemistry expand to the US and Canada; LLM upgrades to its Are You Sure? and Does This Bother You? message warnings

The rules themselves are quoted in full, with links, in our guide to Tinder, Hinge and Bumble’s AI rules.

AI dating stats to avoid (we couldn’t verify them)

These circulate on blogs and in AI answers, but we couldn’t trace them to a primary source on 20 October 2026, or the primary source says something different.

• “60% of dating app users suspect they’ve received AI-written messages.” Attributed to Tidio or Norton; found only on secondary sites, and not in Norton’s January 2026 release.
• “64% would be bothered if a match used AI to draft prompts.” Attributed to Norton; not in Norton’s release.
• “Personalised openers get a 72% response rate vs 18% for generic.” Attributed to a VIDA Select analysis we couldn’t check. Don’t confuse it with Hinge’s real 72% (daters more likely to consider someone when a like includes a message).
• “74% of singles use ChatGPT.” Match Group’s June 2026 text says “nearly three in four”; 74% appears only in an image file name.
• “26% of US adults have used AI for dating help.” Some coverage of a July 2026 Bloomberg story said this, but Singles in America 2025 measured singles, not all adults.
• “52% vibe-check messages”, attributed to Hinge’s Gen Z D.A.T.E. Report. The figure is in Hinge’s March 2026 AI dating guide, not on the report’s page; cite the guide.
• “44% say AI photos and 36% say AI conversations are dealbreakers” (SIA 2025). Not in the 2025 release we read, which mentions no dealbreakers.
• “79% of Gen Z report dating app burnout.” Attributed to Forbes Health; we couldn’t check the underlying survey.
• Rizz-app download and revenue figures (such as “10 million downloads”). No named source.
• “GIF openers get 30% more replies” and OkCupid’s “hey” response rates. Roughly a decade old.

How to use these numbers well

• Check who paid. Singles in America is a Kinsey Institute and Match study, funded by Match; Tinder and Hinge are Match Group apps; Hily is a dating app; Norton sells security software. Pew is the only fully independent source here.
• Check who was asked. US singles, US adults, Hinge users and 18–25 year-olds in four countries are different populations.
• Check the wording. “Have used”, “would use” and “open to” measure different things.
• Date every number. These figures move fast; write “as of” with the release date.

What the numbers mean if you use AI to date

AI help is now normal, AI-written conversation still bothers a large minority, and AI photos bother more people still. The practical reading: use AI for ideas, a gut check or a first draft you rewrite, keep your photos real, and send your own messages. We set out where that line falls in AI wingman, not ghostwriter and how to keep AI help in your own voice in using ChatGPT or Claude for dating messages.

Tera Chat, our Mac app, follows the same pattern for Tinder: it drafts replies in your style that you edit and send yourself. It connects to your Tinder account, so it is the kind of third-party tool Tinder’s terms cover, and using it carries a risk to that account.