Facebook dating: now also with AI

Facebook Dating is a service within Facebook that, similar to Tinder and the like, suggests other people. You can then express your interest in them or signal that you are not interested. However, if you've been in the online dating game for a long time, you can fall into a kind of dating burnout. Dating fatigue is the name given to the phenomenon in which people continue to robotically screen candidates but are not really into it.

The all-rounder AI is now here to help. Meta is launching an AI assistant for dating and Meet Cute—an automatic matcher. The dating assistant intervenes as early as the search stage. It is designed to make better suggestions based on your interests. You don't have to select any filters but can search for suitable people using a prompt. Meta gives the following example in the blog post: “Find me a tech-interested girl in Brooklyn.”

The assistant can also make suggestions for a meeting or help you to make your profile more appealing. However, the dating assistant is initially only available in the USA and Canada.

Automatic suggestions with Meet Cute

Meet Cute takes the wheel for you. This determines a match—surprisingly and without intervention. It is based on a “personalized matching algorithm,” writes Meta. Of course, you can also refuse to communicate directly with such a match.

The main aim of Meet Cute is to put an end to tedious swiping and to break out of patterns. However, there will only be one automatic match per week. A faster frequency is still being tested. The function is opt-out. It is not yet clear whether Meet Cute will come to Germany.

Other dating apps have also integrated AI functions. Bumble, for example, uses AI to help with photo selection and profile design. Here, too, there is a matching algorithm that is said to have improved thanks to AI. Bumble for Friends, a spin-off designed to help you find new friends, also features AI-supported icebreaker questions. AI can also help with creating a profile on Tinder.

(emw)