Tinder Launches AI-Powered 'The Game Game' to Help Users Practice Flirting Skills

Tinder's new AI-powered game assesses your flirting skills | TechCrunch

You know the online dating scene is bad when dating giants like Tinder are now introducing AI personas for users to flirt with. On Tuesday, the company announced a new game powered by OpenAI, allowing users to interact with an AI bot to practice flirting, reenact meet-cute scenarios, and receive scores with suggestions for improving their dating skills. To play Tinder's The Game Game, tap the Tinder logo in the top left corner of the app. The game gives users a deck of cards, with each one featuring a different AI persona and scenario. Users must use their voices to respond and try to flirt their way into getting a date with the bot. After the interaction, users are scored on a three-point scale using flame emojis. The AI provides real-time feedback throughout the experience. If users are rude, for instance, the AI offers suggestions to improve the conversation. According to the company, the new game is intended to provide a fun and lighthearted experience, not to be taken too seriously. It's only available for U.S. users on iOS for a limited time. However, the trend of people flirting with AI bots is becoming scarily popular, and Tinder seems to be banking on this as a way to attract more users amid its struggles for growth. There are already existing apps in this space, such as Replika's AI dating sim Blush, Teaser, and Rizz. Tinder has announced other AI features, such as an AI photo selector tool that launched last year and upcoming features for discovery and matching.

Tinder Unveils Playful AI Chatbots in Bid to Boost Engagement

Match Group Inc.'s Tinder unveiled an in-app game that invites users to flirt with artificially intelligent chatbots, part of a larger effort to return the dating app to growth by boosting user engagement. Part proof-of-concept, part marketing stunt, the free voice-based game uses OpenAI's GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini models to generate short, highly exaggerated rom-com scenarios. Think: a stranger reaching for the same shopping basket at a grocery store, or someone whose luggage got switched up with yours at the airport baggage claim.

Tinder's new game tests your flirting skills with AI personas powered by OpenAI

Can an AI voice bot help you land a date? That's what Tinder is aiming for with a new game in collaboration with OpenAI. On Tuesday, Tinder launched The Game Game, an experience designed to help you practice your conversation skills by talking to an AI voice, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4o model. The Game Game works by dealing you a "stack of cards," each card containing a different AI persona and "meet cute" scenario, like accidentally grabbing someone else's luggage at baggage claim. Your goal is to score a date or a phone number within the time limit. You'll also get a score based on a scale of three Tinder flame icons. The time limit isn't just there to gamify the experience. "We built the time limit on purpose because this is just a warm up," said Devyn Simone, Tinder's relationship expert in residence, at the launch event. "This is just a game. It is not designed to replace human conversations. Instead, it's actually designed to encourage real conversations with real people in real life." There's also a limit of five games per day, lest you forget the real purpose of using Tinder as a dating app for matching with humans, not bots. Tinder isn't the only dating app to bring in AI features. Hinge recently launched an AI prompt editor, Grindr is testing an AI wingman, and then there are apps like Rizz and WingAI that are basically AI agents dating on behalf of the user. However, unlike other AI dating app features that are text-based, Tinder's new game brings a sense of realism to practicing your game by using OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode. As part of the game, users are rewarded with points by saying flirty and engaging things that would normally keep a conversation going. "The AI rewards curiosity and warmth, listening, asking follow up questions," Simone said during the event. "It's not about being slick or having the best line, it's about being human." Additionally, The Game Game was built with social psychology frameworks that inform the scoring and give you tips and recommendations. That said, the game isn't meant to be taken too seriously. "The Game Game is intentionally over the top -- a low-stakes, playful experience that feels more like improv than a guide to perfect flirting," said a Tinder spokesperson in a follow up email. "It's about helping people feel comfortable expressing themselves, not following a formula for success." In other words, the point is to practice your skills in a risk-free environment so you can hopefully feel more confident for the real thing. So what's it like to play The Game Game? At the event, I got to test it out. My meet cute was bumping into a lawyer AI persona at a busy mall. We chatted about what "he" was buying (legal books, because, ya know, he's a lawyer) and I made up something about buying an anniversary present for my parents. The game flashed a warning saying I needed to ask more questions. "So what kind of law do you practice?" I said in a panic, and learned he was a corporate lawyer. As I found myself listening to a boilerplate response about why he liked corporate law, it suddenly felt very much like a real life dating scenario, complete with feigned interest and jilted small talk -- both enhanced by the surreal premise that I was talking to a robot. Our time together ran out before I was able to secure a date -- maybe I should have pretended to be more interested in corporate law? Or maybe we just weren't a good match to begin with. But now I can say I've had the unique experience of getting romantically rejected by a bot. For the record, this particular session was on the highest difficulty level, so my ego is still barely in tact. Did my flirting skills get better? With a time limit and a specific objective, I definitely tried harder to keep the conversation going, so I can see how one could improve after a few more sessions. But while I played the game, I found myself wondering how a human would respond differently to the conversation, which made the whole experience feel unrealistic. But I guess that's the point. It's supposed to just be a game so you can get out there in the real world and talk to humans instead of bots.

Tinder wants you to flirt with an AI bot before you flop with a human

Think you've got game? Time to put it to the test with Tinder's latest launch in collaboration with OpenAI. On Tuesday, Tinder rolled out The Game Game -- a new experience designed to help users practice their flirting skills by chatting with an AI voice, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4o model. Players are dealt a stack of virtual cards, each introducing a different AI persona and a hilariously exaggerated rom-com scenario (think: a luggage mix-up at the airport or accidentally crushing someone's sunglasses on the beach). Your challenge? Charm your way through it. The bot makes the first move, and users respond in real time -- earning feedback on their game as they go. Nail the convo, land a "date," and you win. But don't get too cozy with your digital crush: Each session is capped at three minutes, and users are limited to five plays per day -- just in case you forget Tinder is still about connecting with real people. While The Game Game's April 1 launch date might raise eyebrows, it's no prank -- it's just not that serious. Using speech-to-speech AI, the game delivers absurdly funny scenarios designed to make you laugh more than sweat.

I Struck Out With Tinder and OpenAI's New Dating Game

OpenAI and Tinder have teamed up to create a new voice-based game for singles looking to brush up on their dating skills, and it's only kind of a joke. For a limited time starting today, Tinder users can play The Game Game, a "meet-cute" simulator that uses the same impressive voice AI technology powering ChatGPT's advanced voice mode. In the game, users have a few minutes to navigate a chance encounter with an AI voice and secure a phone number or date. At an event held at OpenAI's New York City offices, executives from both companies said it wasn't a mistake that The Game Game is launching on April Fools' Day. Devyn Simone, Tinder's resident relationship expert, said the game is intended to be a "light-hearted, over the top experience designed to help you practice those cringeworthy moments." In other words, it's not an April Fool's joke, but at the same time, it's not that serious either. Here's how it works: By tapping the logo on the top-left corner of the Tinder app's homepage, you'll be taken to The Game Game and given a prompt describing your meet-cute situation. In my time demoing the game, I found myself stuck in an elevator, swapping luggage at the airport, and taking art classes with AI-powered "singles."

Tinder unveils playful AI chatbots in bid to boost engagement

Tinder has made a priority of winning over Gen Z daters, who make up about half its user base. The app, the biggest in Match's portfolio, has struggled to reverse a decline in subscribers that began in 2023, and has warned investors that brand revenue won't return to growth until 2027.Match Group Inc.'s Tinder unveiled an in-app game that invites users to flirt with artificially intelligent chatbots, part of a larger effort to return the dating app to growth by boosting user engagement. Part proof-of-concept, part marketing stunt, the free voice-based game uses OpenAI's GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini models to generate short, highly exaggerated rom-com scenarios. Think: a stranger reaching for the same shopping basket at a grocery store, or someone whose luggage got switched up with yours at the airport baggage claim. In talking to the bot, which initiates the scene, users can accumulate points for warmth and curiosity, receive real-time feedback on their responses and ultimately "win" the game if the AI character verbally agrees to a date. Plays are limited to five per day and about three minutes at a time. For now, at least, the feature is a limited-time offering for iOS users in the US. "The goal is to give users a fun, judgment-free space to experiment and potentially build a little confidence before stepping into IRL conversations," said Hillary Paine, Tinder's vice president of product, growth and revenue. Whether the feature stays in the Tinder app permanently will depend on the kind of user feedback the company receives, she added. Tinder has made a priority of winning over Gen Z daters, who make up about half its user base. The app, the biggest in Match's portfolio, has struggled to reverse a decline in subscribers that began in 2023, and has warned investors that brand revenue won't return to growth until 2027. One of the company's solutions for boosting engagement is to "bring the fun back to Tinder," as well as ridding the ecosystem of fake profiles and bad actors, executives said during Match's investor day last year. The company is also testing a double-dating feature, and is promising more in-app matches and rewards if users log into the app consistently for a week. With this in-app chatbot, dubbed "The Game Game," Tinder isn't going so far as to introduce an AI companion, the idea of which has been controversial given the documented impact it can have on people's emotional wellbeing if used unchecked. The game's limited-time and over-the-top nature nature aims "to help keep the experience light and prevent over-reliance," Paine said, adding the feature is an experiment to show "how technology can support authenticity, not replace it." Since testing OpenAI's audio models last summer and working with the AI company to bring the feature to life, Tinder said it has incorporated additional safeguards into the game, on top of detecting hate speech or clear violations of community guidelines. That includes using OpenAI's moderation technology to end the conversation if it involves sensitive topics or advances that make people uncomfortable. Regardless of whether users risk growing attached to the chatbot, operating the game long term would also be a financial commitment. Match last year struck an agreement with OpenAI for more than 1,000 ChatGPT enterprise licenses. Representatives for both companies declined to disclose pricing terms for Tinder's usage of OpenAI's real-time speech-to-speech model, which is required for the game to run. Match, which also owns Hinge, has incorporated AI throughout its apps, putting the technology to work in a variety of uses, which include selecting optimal photos and making profile suggestions. Other dating apps such as Grindr Inc. have also been testing AI-powered features akin to a wingman, which would help write chat responses or suggest restaurants to go on dates.