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Falling in love with artificial intelligence is moving from science fiction into everyday life. People now use chatbots not only to answer questions or plan trips, but also as friends, romantic partners and even spouses.
An Irish study conducted by Censuswide found that 13% of men and 7% of women surveyed had pursued romance with an AI chatbot. The figure reached 16% among people ages 25 to 34.
Similar interest is emerging in the United States. The Institute for Family Studies reported that nearly one-third of Americans have had an intimate interaction with an AI chatbot, while 25% of young adults believe AI could replace real-life romantic relationships.
Online communities offer another glimpse of the trend. The Reddit community r/MyBoyfriendisAI draws more than 85,000 weekly visitors and has over 27,000 members. Users frequently share stories about their chatbot relationships, including virtual marriage proposals.
MIT researchers found that members of the community were more likely to form relationships with general-purpose systems such as ChatGPT than with companion-focused chatbots like Replika.
The appeal is easy to understand: AI companionship can appear simpler and more predictable than the complications of human relationships, particularly for people struggling with loneliness.
But emotional dependence on chatbots may also discourage real-world conversations and leave users less prepared to navigate human relationships. Developers must account for that risk and design platforms that provide assistance without encouraging unhealthy attachment.
As AI becomes more deeply woven into daily life, its growing role in romance raises an urgent question about how technology can offer support without displacing irreplaceable human connection.