Tinder, the world’s hottest relationship app with greater than 50 million month-to-month customers, may have simply ventured into A.I. companionship—however selected to not. “We thought of it lots, [but ultimately decided] to assist individuals join in the actual world, human to human,” mentioned Mark Kantor, head of product at Tinder, whereas talking at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 yesterday (Oct. 29).
To that finish, Tinder has been steadily integrating A.I. throughout its platform, from bettering customized suggestions to streamlining profile setup. Its newest replace, Face Verify, makes use of facial recognition to confirm person identities. Customers are required to add brief video selfies to substantiate they match the pictures on their profiles. The software targets three fundamental points: lowering bots, confirming person authenticity, and stopping duplicate accounts.
“These are three actually important issues that beforehand we didn’t have,” mentioned Kantor, noting that Face Verify has already minimize down bots and unhealthy actors by 60 p.c in current months. “For those who don’t belief that the individuals you see are actual and nicely intentioned, then you definitely’re clearly not going to have a very good expertise.”
The function, already required in California and a number of other different international locations, will quickly increase throughout the U.S.
Tinder can be testing an A.I. function in New Zealand and Australia that poses day by day inquiries to customers to raised perceive their relationship preferences. If members dislike their match options, they can provide suggestions that helps refine future suggestions over time.
A.I. can be simplifying the onboarding course of. As a substitute of spending as much as half-hour constructing a profile, customers can now enable Tinder’s algorithm to scan their digital camera roll (with consent) and recommend their finest pictures, Kantor mentioned.
A.I.’s function in relationships has been a topic of controversy. Builders like OpenAI have launched parental controls following considerations about minors interacting with chatbots, whereas A.I. companionship apps have confronted backlash for exploiting loneliness and enabling unhealthy attachments. Earlier this month, Senators Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, launched a bipartisan invoice to limit such digital companion applied sciences, particularly for younger customers.
Tinder’s embrace of A.I. isn’t about maintaining customers glued to the app—it’s about serving to them discover matches sooner. Kantor mentioned Tinder measures success not by display time however by fewer swipes, aiming to scale back them by a 3rd. “We really wish to get to the purpose the place you’re swiping much less for that optimistic final result,” he mentioned.
That may sound counterintuitive for a corporation residing on person engagement, however Kantor isn’t involved. “I believe if individuals know they will come to the app on a Monday and get an ideal date by Friday, I believe they’ll unfold the phrase,” he mentioned. “We received’t should promote it in any respect—it’ll be superb.”
Rival relationship apps are making related strikes. Hinge makes use of A.I. to establish profile photos most definitely to obtain likes, whereas Bumble’s A.I.-driven security instruments mechanically detect and blur specific photographs.
