Meta adds AI 'dating assistant' to Facebook Dating
Meta has announced two new features to Facebook Dating: Meet Cute and an AI dating assistant.
The former adds an element of surprise when using Meta's free dating service. Meet Cute matches you with a random user based on its matching algorithm, and you can choose to either chat with them or unmatch. Users will start getting a weekly Meet Cute match — but you can opt out at any time.
The dating assistant, meanwhile, is a chat assistant within Facebook Dating that supposedly "gives you personalized help on your dating journey," according to Meta's announcement. The assistant can help find better matches and allows users to enter unique traits that they're looking for, beyond the classics of height and education. (The example Meta used is, "Find me a Brooklyn girl in tech.") It can also provide dating ideas and profile help.
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The dating assistant is available in the matches tab and will start rolling out in the U.S. and Canada.
Meta announced that these new features are designed to "help address swipe fatigue," a term that encompasses disillusionment with online dating and dating apps. Daters have been feeling this for some time, and while other dating apps are introducing AI features as well, daters told Mashable they actually want to meet others in a low-tech way: in person.
This isn't the first time that Meta has used AI to help users find a partner. In 2023, when Meta rolled out its AI characters, one of them was Carter, an AI dating coach. People soon found out that Carter kink-shamed them, like advising against swinging.
Meta deleted Carter and its other AI personalities back in January, and in August a report found that Meta's AI bots impersonated celebrities and produced lewd images. The tech giant hasn't stopped its AI push, though, debuting its "AI glasses" last week.
Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Instagram.
