Finding Love in the Digital Age: Can AI and Humans Team Up to Improve Dating Apps?

In the world of dating apps, speed and quantity often win over quality and depth. Most apps focus on quick sign-ups and endless swipes, but what if there was a better way? Sitch, a new dating app, is trying to change the game by combining human matchmaking skills with artificial intelligence. Unlike other apps, Sitch takes its time to get to know users. Instead of just looking at photos and basic info, it asks detailed questions to understand what people are really looking for in a partner. This info is then used to find potential matches, without the need for endless swiping. The idea behind Sitch comes from Nandini Mullaji, whose grandmother was a matchmaker. Mullaji noticed that traditional dating apps don't have enough information to make good matches. She wanted to create something that could use more data to find compatible partners. Sitch uses large language models (LLMs) to extract data from profiles and pictures. This helps the app show personalized matches to users. The app also encourages users to give feedback, which helps improve the AI's suggestions over time. To use Sitch, users pay for a set number of matches, called "setups. " These come in packs of three, five, or eight. The app is currently only available in New York, but plans to expand to other cities soon. Sitch is backed by $7 million in funding and is trying to stand out in a crowded market. While larger companies like Tinder and Bumble are also using AI, Sitch believes its focus on quality and personalized matches will appeal to users who are tired of swipe-based apps. However, it's not clear if Sitch can compete with the giants of the dating app world. Only time will tell if this unique approach will lead to more successful matches and happy users.