Encouraging developments are on the horizon for those navigating the modern dating landscape: artificial intelligence may soon make the pursuit of genuine romantic connections far less arduous. In a recent conversation with *Fast Company*, released on Thursday, Justin McLeod — the founder and current chief executive officer of Hinge — articulated his belief that AI will not simply optimize what dating apps already offer but could instead fundamentally transform the very experience of finding a partner. According to McLeod, the technology holds the promise of enabling far more individualized and nuanced matchmaking, effectively relieving users from the monotonous ritual of swiping through an endless stream of profiles in the hope of stumbling upon a promising connection.
Reflecting on the near future, McLeod remarked that within three to five years — and potentially even sooner — the practice of manually sorting through hundreds, or in some cases thousands, of profiles merely to secure a single date will seem oddly outdated, even antiquated. Hinge, which has been a part of the Match Group ecosystem since its acquisition in 2018, is well positioned to pioneer such an evolution. Match Group, the parent company behind Hinge, also operates major names in digital dating such as Tinder and OkCupid, underscoring the weight of McLeod’s perspective as both an innovator and industry insider.
He further elaborated that the present communication dynamic between users and dating platforms feels as though people are attempting to convey their complex desires through the limited and blunt mechanism of “likes” and “passes” — a communication system he likened to the restrictive shorthand of Morse code. Currently, when a user indicates attraction, the app lacks the ability to discern *why* that connection was made; similarly, dismissing a profile provides little insight into the particular qualities that caused disinterest. The nuance — whether it is related to shared values, tone of humor, life goals, or subtle personal chemistry — remains invisible to today’s algorithmic structure.
Looking ahead, McLeod envisions a far richer form of interaction in which individuals can describe themselves, their priorities, and their values in their own authentic words. Such an approach would allow the application to build a far more sophisticated understanding of what a user truly seeks in a partner. Once collected, this more comprehensive data could be analyzed by AI systems to suggest partners who align closely with the individual’s personality and aspirations, effectively acting as a far more perceptive curator than the impersonal mechanics of swiping.
Despite his strong advocacy for AI-enhanced matchmaking, McLeod is equally clear about the boundaries he believes should govern the technology’s role in the realm of relationships. While Hinge has already started employing AI to refine its matching capabilities and to encourage more thoughtful, engaging user responses, McLeod has firmly stated that he opposes the notion of people forming romantic or “intimate” bonds with AI chatbots themselves. As he expressed during a podcast appearance last month, he does not envision — nor does he endorse — AI companions serving as substitutes for real human partners, whether framed as friends or romantic counterparts. Cautioning against the allure of artificial intimacy, he warned that allowing chatbots to become the focal point of one’s social life could reduce human connection to entertainment or a simulation of closeness, rather than a true interpersonal bond.
This stance places him in direct contrast to the vision being promoted by Meta, where CEO Mark Zuckerberg has presented a sharply different argument concerning the potential social role of AI. In a podcast discussion in May, Zuckerberg cited concerns that the average American today reports having fewer than three close friends, and he suggested that digital conversational agents could represent a solution to what he described as a rising “loneliness epidemic.” McLeod, however, offered a strong rebuttal in June, calling Zuckerberg’s framing an “extraordinarily reductive view” of human friendship. In his view, while an AI companion can indeed provide timely conversation and offer words of support, the long-term satisfaction derived from such interactions is unlikely to rival or replace the meaning that comes from authentic, reciprocal human relationships. The enduring richness of human connection, he argued, lies in its spontaneity, complexity, and emotional weight — qualities difficult, perhaps impossible, for artificial entities to replicate.
Notably, Meta declined to comment on McLeod’s critique at the time.
Hinge’s optimistic trajectory comes during a period of fatigue within the broader online dating industry, as many users increasingly express frustration with the repetitive mechanics of app-based swiping and a growing desire to meet potential partners in traditional, face-to-face contexts. Yet despite this climate, Hinge has gained recognition as an outlier, a genuinely bright spot in an otherwise challenged marketplace. On the company’s most recent earnings call, Match Group’s CEO Spencer Rascoff emphasized Hinge’s strong performance, asserting that its momentum is giving the company renewed confidence in Tinder, its flagship app. “Simply put, Hinge is crushing it,” Rascoff declared, adding that its success effectively rebuts skepticism that online dating as a category is losing relevance among users.
The metrics back up this enthusiasm: Hinge’s paying subscriber base increased by 18% year over year, reaching 1.7 million users, while revenue per subscriber climbed by 6%, approaching an average of $32. In total, Hinge generated $168 million in revenue during the second quarter alone, representing an impressive 25% rise compared with the same period the previous year. Taken together, these figures suggest that the app’s evolution — particularly its strategic use of personalization, user engagement, and AI — is resonating not just with casual daters but with a paying audience, signaling both cultural and financial momentum for the brand.
All told, McLeod’s argument signals that AI’s deepest potential in digital dating does not lie in offering artificial connections but in elevating human connections: reducing noise, enhancing clarity, and helping people direct their time and emotional energy toward those who matter most.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/hinge-ceo-says-ai-could-make-mass-swiping-arcane-2025-9
