Dating apps are losing control of Generation Z, a generation increasingly tired of endless swiping and superficial matches, and companies are scrambling to find a solution. Recently, Tinder announced a number of features including IRL (real life) dating sessions to combat swipe fatigue.
Now Bumble is trying to address this problem, and its answer is generative AI. As TechCrunch reported, Bumble announced a new AI assistant called Bee during its fourth-quarter earnings call.
It’s designed to work like a personal matchmaker, learning your values, relationship goals, communication style, and more, and then using all of this information to find truly compatible partners.
Bee is currently in internal testing but is expected to be available to beta users soon.
How does Bee work?
Bee offers a new dating experience called Dates. When you use it for the first time, Bee starts with an onboarding conversation to get to know you. It then identifies another user with shared values and intentions and notifies both people in the app with a description of why they might be a good match.
It’s a sensible departure from the standard “swipe right and hope” approach. Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd also said the company will experiment with eliminating swipe entirely in select markets. Instead, users get “chapter-based” profiles where you can connect with someone over different parts of their life story, rather than just a single photo.
Bumble may also focus on taking the data offline. Wolf Herd said: “You will also notice that we are taking a much more deliberate approach to taking people offline, rather than just into so-called dead-end chat zones.”
Can Bee really help you find a date?
It seems that everything is getting its own spin through generative AI these days. It’s in our glasses, in our phones, in our toys and in our apps. From answering our questions to managing our health data, AI seems to be permeating every aspect of our lives.
It also seems that whenever a company mentions AI, investors reward it with an increase in the share price. After Bumble reported strong quarterly revenue of $224.2 million and highlighted its AI integration plans, the company’s stock rose 40%.
Therefore, it’s hard to say whether these AI agents are truly helpful or just a crutch that companies use to stay relevant. Only time will tell if Bee will be useful and help people find dates, but for now I’m cautious.
