Tinder is turning to a new AI-powered feature, Chemistry, to help it reduce so-called “swipe fatigue,” a growing problem among online dating users who feel exhausted and are looking for better results.
The Match-owned dating app, introduced last quarter, said Chemistry leverages artificial intelligence to get to know users through questions and, with permission, access their phone’s Camera Roll to learn more about their interests and personality.
On Match’s Q4 2026 earnings call, an analyst from Morgan Stanley asked for an update on the product’s success so far.
Match CEO Spencer Rascoff noted that Chemistry is still only being tested in Australia for now, but said the feature offered users an “AI way to interact with Tinder”. He explained that users could choose to answer questions to “get just one or two drops, instead of going through many, many profiles.”
In addition to Chemistry’s Q&A and Camera Roll features, the company plans to use the AI feature in other ways in the future, the CEO also hinted.
More importantly, Rascoff said the feature is designed to combat scanning fatigue — a complaint from users who say they have to wade through too many profiles to find a potential match.
The company’s shift to artificial intelligence comes as Tinder and other dating apps face subscriber declines, user burnout and declines in new signups.
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In the fourth quarter, Tinder’s new signups fell 5% year-over-year and its monthly active users fell 9%. Those numbers show some small improvements over previous quarters, which Match attributes to AI-based suggestions that change the order of profiles shown to women and other product experiments.
Match said that this year, it aims to address common Gen Z pain points, including better relevance, authenticity and trust. To do that, the company said it’s redesigning discovery to make it less repetitive and using other features like Face Check — a facial recognition verification system — to cut down on bad actors. On Tinder, the latter led to a more than 50% reduction in interactions with bad actors, Match noted.
Tinder’s decision to start moving away from swiping towards more targeted AI suggestions could have a major impact on the dating app. Today, the swipe method, popularized by Tinder, encourages users to believe they are selecting a match from an endless number of profiles. But in reality, the app presents the illusion of choice, as matches must be two-way to connect, and even then, a spark isn’t guaranteed.
The company delivered one profits exceeded in the fourth quarter, with revenue of $878 million and EPS of 83 cents per share, beating Wall Street estimates. However, weak guidance saw the stock slide on Tuesday, before rises again in preliminary trading on Wednesday.
Beyond AI, Match will also increase its product marketing to boost Tinder engagement. The company is committing to $50 million in Tinder marketing spend, which will include creator campaigns on TikTok and Instagram where users will claim that “Tinder is cool again,” Rascoff noted.
