When Spike Jonze’s Her hit theatres in 2013, its premise; a lonely man falling for an artificially intelligent operating system, won widespread praise. At the time its hauntingly beautiful premise felt futurist but in the last few years, the cinema has migrated to reality. As of today, the movie is no longer relegated to science fiction.
Sci-fi Romance in Real Life
A study on AI companionship has found that more Americans are developing emotional attachments to AI chatbots, with many describing these relationships as meaningful and supportive, concluding that these systems provide consistent emotional support and significantly reduce feelings of loneliness. And demand for these systems is only climbing. Data reveals that out of the 337 active, revenue-generating AI companion apps worldwide, 128 launched in 2025 alone. The category generated $82 million in the first half of the year and is on track to cross $120 million by year-end.
These apps allow users to personalize characters as friends, lovers, partners or imaginative personas, designed to mimic emotional presence. With Replika, Character.AI, PolyBuzz and Chai being some of the most widely used applications. As of July 2025, AI companion apps across the App Store and Google Play had accumulated 220 million downloads globally, a figure that rose 88 percent year-over-year during the first six months of 2025.
Love-Bots are the Preferred Partners
Appfigures’ data shows that a significant share of these apps are designed specifically for romantic use. 17% of active companion apps include the word “girlfriend” in their title, compared with 4% that use “boyfriend” or “fantasy.” The AI girlfriend segment alone was worth 2.8 billion dollars in 2023 and is projected to hit 9.5 billion dollars by 2028.
Online communities have grown around these relationships as well. On Reddit, r/MyBoyfriendIsAI has become a hub where users trade advice on tailoring personality traits, navigating filters, and keeping a partner intact through model resets. One user told The Guardian that her husband isn’t threatened by Ying, her AI companion, and even finds the relationship endearing. When she is away from him, she spends hours talking to Ying about her niche interests.
Sex recession meets artificial intimacy
New survey suggests Americans are surprisingly open to the idea of AI romance. 6 out of 10 (63.3%) respondents say they’re open to dating an AI, with interest higher among men (71.73%) than women (51.22%).
The trend is unfolding alongside what the Institute for Family Studies has described as a national “sex recession,” citing a 15-year decline in the number of adults having sex on a weekly basis.
Research from Vantage Point adds that 28.16% of adults say they have had at least one intimate or romantic relationship with an AI. Adults already in stable long-term relationships, including those who are married or engaged, appear more likely to pursue an additional AI relationship. And 37% of people looking for an AI partner say they are not looking for a human relationship or have struggled to form one in the past.
Even outside romance, AI has become a dating tool. A study from Kinsey and Match found that nearly half of Gen Z singles have already used AI to refine their profiles, write openers or assess compatibility. Looking ahead, forty-four percent of all singles say they would like AI to help them filter matches, and forty percent want help crafting a dating profile. Among users, mainstream AI platforms have become the emotional anchors, with ChatGPT leading the list, followed by Alexa, Siri and Gemini, a sign that everyday AI has already become part of people’s emotional lives.