Tech Desk 
Sep 11, 2024
Bumble, an online dating and networking application, is ready to increase its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and diverge with new features to stay relevant amid a generation shift in dating behaviour among young users.
During Goldman Sachs’ annual technology conference on September 9, Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones announced more details about the app’s upcoming AI capabilities, involving a photo selection tool along with features to help with conversations and profile creation.
During a call with investors, she stated: “We will also introduce new AI-driven features, including an AI-assisted photo picker to ease the profile creation process and conversation support that will help our customers gain confidence to be their best selves. We have an ambitious view of how AI will enhance the value we deliver to our customers in each step of the dating journey for profile creation, discovery, engagement, and the core of our matching models.”
The new AI-powered features are set to be launched on the app this winter.
Bumble’s photo picker tool would put it in closer competition with Tinder, which launched its AI “Photo Selector” feature this summer, offering users suggested selfies taken from their camera roll. Tinder claims 9.6 million paying users, whereas Bumble has 2.8 million users as of Q2 2024.
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The company indicated that it’s also working on additional tools to help with profile creation, but didn’t go into particular detail.
“We want the bar for profile creation to continue to be high, but we want to reduce the friction that exists for users. Users have a lot of anxiety in creating profiles. We’re going to make that as smooth as possible. So profile creation is a big one,” Jones noted during the conference.
There’s more than just uploading photos that go into making a profile; users must also come up with a compelling bio and prompts to attract potential matches. Meanwhile, Bumble has been utilising AI to power its safety features for a few years now.
Its “Deception Detector” tool detects and removes fake profiles, spammers, and scammers, and its “Private Detector” feature automatically blurs nude photos.
Recently, Bumble introduced a new option that allows members to report profiles if they believe the photos and videos are generated with the use of AI.
