Key Takeaways
- Joi AI’s survey of Gen Z and millennial men found that 40-50% see dating an AI chatbot as a suitable — and less expensive — alternative to traditional dating.
- The financial pressure to pay for dates and keep up one’s appearance can put a damper on a person's wallet and relationships, making AI a more attractive prospect.
- As AI daters crave deeper connections, they’ll need to pay for more expensive subscriptions, potentially paying more for AI than an IRL date.
Just because today’s daters want to make IRL connections doesn’t mean they can afford to.
Joi AI, a chatbot that “revolutionizes modern companionship,” reports that 43% of Gen Z and millennial male survey respondents say they feel financially strained by real-life dating. One solution to this is downright novel: One in 3 men in the study said they would consider dating an AI chatbot to save money.
Dating professionals and platforms should not underestimate the power financial stress has over daters. More than half of the men surveyed by Joi AI (53%) said AI is a “lifeline for those who can’t afford to date.”
And nearly half of those surveyed said they have skipped dates they can’t afford, potentially losing out on important connections and romances.
When singles are priced out of dating, they may fall into the arms of an AI lover. But is this AI alternative actually just as expensive?
Dating Can Be Emotionally — and Financially — Draining
They say you should always be yourself, but “they” probably haven’t been on Tinder.
When one’s appearance is the first impression, it should be as memorable as possible. This means investing in appearances: in fitness, in socializing, in wardrobe, and in personal hygiene.
These sound like no-brainers, but to today’s daters, investing in one’s appearance is often a luxury they can’t afford. Forty-three percent of male respondents told Joi AI that they have experienced anxiety about the high cost of dating.
That’s not to mention the financial pressure that comes with the date itself, whether it’s a down-to-earth movie night, a fancy dinner, or a luxury vacation. Financial anxiety can seep into every aspect of life, draining the fun out of socializing and dating.
On a date, the pressure to fulfill financial obligations can overpower any feelings of excitement and curiosity. This not only suggests the need for dating-specific budgeting tools, but for dating professionals who can guide cash-strapped singles through the dating process, providing non-AI alternatives.
And, yes, singles are still open to AI enhancements that make talking to their partners about financial matters less awkward.
Dating an AI is particularly appealing to people with cash flow problems. It offers a pressure-free environment that caters solely to the user’s happiness. It’s no wonder 51% of men surveyed by Joi AI said the future of dating may be mostly artificial.
Even Premium Models Can’t Feel True Love
Consumer-focused AI chatbots with basic capabilities, such as ChatGPT, cost approximately $20/month for individuals. But this number immediately increases if a dater wants more depth from their AI relationship.
“Dating” an AI chatbot is all fun and games until the honeymoon phase ends. Unlike humans, AI bots don’t always have boundless memories, and they definitely don’t have a capacity for genuine love. High-tech bells and whistles can only satisfy a human’s craving for love and affection for so long.
Professor Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, told DatingNews that AI is currently only a short-term solution for common dating problems.
“Imagine that you have quick, available food but with mostly empty calories, or more nutritious food that is much harder to prepare,” he posited. “Are we going to be tempted to have the lower nutritional value, easily accessible food? Most likely, yes.”
But just because the food is easily accessible doesn’t mean it sustains life. “I worry that we will do the same thing in romantic love,” Ariely said. For all of AI’s perks, it can’t quite reach the depths of a real relationship. Eventually, the AI dater will have to upgrade if it wants the “relationship” to survive.
This usually means shelling out big bucks for a more advanced AI model. Premium chatbots with improved memories and more personalized voices can cost hundreds of dollars a month. As AI technology evolves, the demand only grows, and so will the price.
With real life dates averaging between $125-$194 (accoerding to Investopedia), whether one spends money on an AI date or a real life date becomes a matter of preference, not necessarily of cost. It’s all too possible that people in AI “relationships” will end up back where they started: Broke.
