Key Takeaways

Bumble leveled the AI vs. Humans playing field recently with its new Advice Hub, which provides real-life insights into common dating problems with the help of human experts. 

The experts — Author Jillian Turecki, relationship educator Shan Boodram, and licensed therapist Kier Gaines — are not only very capable advisors, but very real humans, with proven expertise to support their words of wisdom. 

According to Mashable, a Bumble spokesperson said that the expert-supported advice hub “marks a broader evolution in Bumble’s approach — blending technology with human insight.” 

This careful blend of technology and humanity seems to resonate with modern daters, who want to reap the benefits of efficient tech while still feeling grounded in human values. 

Altogether, the experts have a hand in crafting 20 pieces of advice content for Bumble, including informative articles and videos. 

The experts’ advice is backed by real experience, colored by human emotion, and ultra-specific to each dating challenge. Their advice covers a range of topics from self-love and manifestation to establishing boundaries and embracing vulnerability, all topics that are hyper-relevant to today’s authenticity-seeking generation of daters.  

“Dating should be exciting, not exhausting, and with the right support, it really can be,” Jillian Turecki said in the press release. But what is the “right” support? 

Gen Z’s Push for Authenticity Hasn’t Stopped AI 

Thao Ha, Associate Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University, told DatingNews that an advice hub is a “promising step toward more thoughtful dating,” even if changing one’s online dating habits and behaviors “takes more than just good advice.”

According to Ha, the most helpful advice “must be timely, encouraging, and support daters in practicing new behaviors.” Ha believes that any advice hub, whether AI generated or not, can only be successful if it “meets people where they are and helps them act in the moment.”

Many apps seem to think AI is the support Gen Z is looking for, choosing convenience over authenticity. AI advice bots are sweeping through dating apps right now, albeit in various forms. 

There’s Hinge’s “Prompt Feedback” tool, which provides actionable profile-building advice. Wing AI takes “helping hand” a step further by crafting icebreakers and opening lines, which it suggests using as inspiration, but which many users undoubtedly use as is. 

And then there’s LoveGenius, the “AI dating assistant” that intends to optimize everything, from dating app profiles to flirty messages. For better or worse, these AI support features aim to take the stress out of the dating app experience. 

Bumble takes a more unexpected, but authentic, approach by promoting dating advice about IRL situations from IRL experts. It’s banking on humans being able to connect with other humans better than AI. 

It’s not the only app to hear Gen Z’s calls for authentic and in-person dating experiences. Hinge has also embraced an AI/human hybrid approach to online dating with Hinge Labs, the app’s group of real-life scientists and psychologists who give advice and report on the state of dating. 

The LGBTQ+ dating app Taimi, meanwhile, promotes and supports queer in-person social events on the app. And Affinity Apps, the subsidiary behind the niche Match Group apps BLK, Chispa, Upward, and Yuzu, also mixes tech and humanity with Qloo’s proprietary cultural AI. 

The AI analyzes each user’s interests to the tiniest detail, which attempts to make profiles more personalized, more unique, and yes, more human. 

After all, today’s daters seek personalization, uniqueness, and authenticity, and Bumble hopes that its expert advice hub will provide all three. 

This has been far from the summer of love for Bumble. Layoffs and unflattering headlines have cast doubts on the app’s future. But Bumble’s human-backed Advice Hub suggests a return to the values that have made the app a major industry player: The safety, self-confidence, and overall wellbeing of its users.