A new global survey from Norton, a consumer Cyber Safety brand of Gen has shed light on a new way people are looking to incorporate AI into their lives — online dating. Two thirds (64%) of current online daters are interested in using AI as their dating coach. This finding is part of a broader exploration in the 2024 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report – Special Release: Online Dating, which delves into online behaviors when it comes to meeting and exchanging information with prospective partners and romantic interests.
We found that people looking for love invest a significant amount of time and money on online dating. In fact, Norton data shows the average online dater currently spends six hours a week and $300 throughout their lifetime on dating apps and services. Given this investment, people are turning to AI as a convenient tool to guide them through online dating to help increase their chances of finding a match. Of those who are currently using an online dating app or service, 71% of people are interested in using AI to write pick up lines and conversation starters, 70% for dating app profile development and 64% for photo enhancement.
However, while there’s excitement around the possibility of using AI to improve the online dating experience, people need to be aware to how this technology can also lead to the potential threat of romance scams, especially as Norton telemetry found online dating scams increased by 72% since 2023. Norton’s data shows that nearly a third of Americans (27%) who have used a dating app say they have been targeted by a dating scam, with almost half (42%) of this 27% falling victim. Additionally, nearly a third (30%) of Americans who have used a dating app said they had been catfished by someone.
“Online dating is notoriously difficult to navigate and using AI as a dating coach seems innocuous when you’re on the receiving end of a bad pickup line or trying to draft a thoughtful breakup text. However, AI technology can also make online dating riskier and more complicated when it’s utilized in more nefarious ways,” said Leyla Bilge, Director of Scam Research Labs for Norton. “Romance scams aren’t new, but AI is changing the game and making these types of scams more common and much harder to spot. People need to stay vigilant for signs of romance scams such as individuals who avoid video or phone calls, have very few images on their dating profiles or attempt to progress the relationship quickly.”
The report also uncovered:
- Nearly half (45%) of men prefer to meet a potential partner online. While only a fifth (19%) of women prefer to meet a potential partner online. This could likely be attributed to a lack of perceived safety regarding the people they interact with on the apps.
- Surprisingly, online daters ranked Instagram (61%) and Bumble (52%) as the perceived safest dating apps.
- Raya is perceived as the least safe, with only 23% of people agreeing it is safe.
- Over half (54%) of Americans have used an online dating app while traveling or on vacation.
With the increased popularity of AI in online dating and rising scams targeting online daters, there is a critical need for education and awareness around Cyber Safety. Norton helps people leverage AI and digital safety tools to navigate the online dating world safely with products like Norton Genie, a free AI-powered scam detection app. Norton Genie can review suspicious texts, emails or web links, such as those that direct people to fake dating sites or website links from prospective partners, and confirm if it’s malicious.
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