Facebook has announced the introduction of two new features for its Dating platform, aiming to simplify the online dating experience and reduce what it describes as "swipe fatigue." The new tools, called a dating assistant and Meet Cute, are being rolled out in the United States and Canada.
According to Facebook, hundreds of thousands of young adults aged 18-29 in the US and Canada create profiles on Facebook Dating each month. The company also reported a 10% year-over-year increase in matches among young adults. These updates are designed to help users connect with more people without relying on continuous swiping or having to pay for additional features.
The dating assistant is an integrated chat tool within Facebook Dating that offers personalized recommendations based on users' interests and preferences. Unlike traditional filters such as height or education, the assistant allows users to input unique prompts tailored to their specific desires. For example, a user can ask for matches like “Find me a Brooklyn girl in tech,” and the assistant will search accordingly. It can also suggest dating ideas or provide tips for improving user profiles. This feature will be available gradually through the Matches tab.
Meet Cute is another new feature that uses Facebook's matching algorithm to automatically pair users with surprise matches on a weekly basis. Users can choose whether to start a conversation or move on from their match. The company says it may offer different frequency options for this feature in the future, and participation is optional.
“These new features are designed to help address swipe fatigue, and we’ll continue to evolve Facebook Dating to help make meeting people easy, fun, and free,” said the company.
The rollout of these features reflects ongoing efforts by Meta (Facebook’s parent company) to enhance its dating service for younger demographics who are increasingly turning to digital platforms for social connections.