Business
The people turning to AI for dating and relationship advice
Suzanne BearneTechnology Reporter
Getty ImagesEarlier this year, Rachel wanted to clear the air with a man she had been dating before seeing him again in a wider friendship group setting.
“I’d used ChatGPT for job searching but had heard someone else use it [for dating advice],” says Rachel, who does not want her real name used, and lives in Sheffield.
“I was feeling quite distressed and wanted guidance, and didn’t want friends involved.”
Before the phone call, she turned to ChatGPT for help. “I asked, how do I deal with this conversation but not be on the defensive.”
Its response?
“ChatGPT does this all the time but it was something like ‘wow, that’s such a self-aware question, you must be emotionally mature going through this. Here are some tips’. It was like a cheerleader on my side, like I was right and he was wrong.”
Overall, she says it was “useful” but described the language as “very much like therapy speak, using words like ‘boundaries'”.
“All I took from it was it reminded me to be OK to do it on my terms, but I didn’t take it too literally.”
Rachel is not alone in turning to AI for advice in dealing with relationships.
According to research by the online dating firm Match, almost half of Generation Z Americans (those born between 1997 and 2012) said they have used LLMs like ChatGPT for dating advice, that’s more than any other generation.
People are turning to AI to help craft breakup messages, to dissect conversations they’re having with people they’re dating, and to resolve problems in relationships.
Anastasia JobsonDr Lalitaa Suglani, psychologist and relationship expert, says AI can be a useful tool, especially for people who feel overwhelmed or unsure when it comes to communication in relationships.
It may help them to craft a text, process a confusing message or source a second opinion, which can offer a moment of pause instead of being reactive, she says.
“In many ways it can function like a journalling prompt or reflective space, which can be supportive when used as a tool and not a replacement for connection,” says Dr Suglani.
However, she flags several concerns.
“LLMs are trained to be helpful and agreeable and repeat back what you are sharing, so they may subtly validate dysfunctional patterns or echo back assumptions, especially if the prompt is biased and the problem with this it can reinforce distorted narratives or avoidance tendencies.”
For example, she says, using AI to write a breakup text might be a way to avoid the discomfort of the situation. That might contribute to avoidant behaviours, as the individual is not sitting with how they actually feel.
Using AI might also inhibit their own development.
“If someone turns to an LLM every time they’re unsure how to respond or feel emotionally exposed, they might start outsourcing their intuition, emotional language, and sense of relational self,” says Dr Suglani.
She also notes that AI messages can be emotionally sterile and make communication feel scripted, which can be unnerving to receive.
Es LeeDespite the challenges, services are springing up to serve the market for relationship advice.
Mei is a free AI generated service. Trained using Open AI, the service responds to relationship dilemmas with conversational-like responses.
“The idea is to allow people to instantly seek help to navigate relationships because not everyone can talk to friends or family for fear of judgment,” says New York-based founder Es Lee.
He says more than half of the issues brought up on the AI tool concern sex, a subject that many may not wish to discuss with friends or a therapist, Mr Lee says.
“People are only using AI as existing services are lacking,” he says.
Another common use is how to reword a message or how to fix an issue in a relationship. “It’s like people need AI to validate it [the problem].”
When giving relationship advice, issues of safety could come up. A human counsellor would know when to intervene and protect a client from a potentially harmful situation.
Would a relationship app provide the same guardrails?
Mr Lee recognises the concern over safety. “I think the stakes are higher with AI because it can connect with us on a personal level the way no other technology has.”
But he says Mei has “guardrails” built into the AI.
“We welcome professionals and organisations to partner with us and take an active role in molding our AI products,” he says.
OpenAI the creator of ChatGPT says that its latest model has shown improvements in areas like avoiding unhealthy levels of emotional reliance and sycophancy.
In a statement the company said:
“People sometimes turn to ChatGPT in sensitive moments, so we want to make sure it responds appropriately, guided by experts. This includes directing people to professional help when appropriate, strengthening our safeguards in how our models respond to sensitive requests and nudging for breaks during long sessions.”
Another area of concern is privacy. Such apps could potentially collect very sensitive data, which could be devastating if exposed by hackers.
Mr Lee says “at every fork in the road on how we handle user privacy, we choose the one that preserves privacy and collects only what we need to provide the best service.”
As part of that policy, he says that Mei does not ask for information that would identify an individual, other than an email address.
Mr Lee also says conversations are saved temporarily for quality assurance but discarded after 30 days. “They are not currently saved permanently to any database.”
Some people are using AI in combination with a human therapist.
When Corinne (not her real name) was looking to end a relationship late last year, she started to turn to ChatGPT for advice on how to deal with it.
London-based Corinne says she was inspired to turn to AI after hearing her housemate talk positively about using it for dating advice, including how to break up with someone.
She said she would ask it to respond to her questions in the same style as popular relationship expert Jillian Turecki or holistic psychologist Dr Nicole LePera, both very popular on social media.
When she started dating again at the start of the year she turned to it again, again asking for advice in the style of her favourite relationship experts.
“Around January I had been on a date with a guy and I didn’t find him physically attractive but we get on really well so I asked it if it was worth going on another date. I knew they would say yes as I read their books but it was nice to have the advice tailored to my scenario.”
Corinne, who has a therapist, says the discussions with her therapist delve more into childhood than the questions she raises with ChatGPT over dating or relationship queries.
She says that she treats AI advice with “a bit of distance”.
“I can imagine people ending relationships and perhaps having conversations they shouldn’t be having yet [with their partner] as ChatGPT just repeats back what it thinks you want to hear.
“It’s good in life’s stressful moments. And when a friend isn’t around. It calms me down.”
Business
Elon Musk is telling his followers to cancel Netflix subscriptions. Here’s what’s happening
Elon Musk stands in the Oval Office to attend a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Elon Musk this week urged his followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over a controversy surrounding an animated show and its creator.
Musk on Wednesday posted on his X platform saying, “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.” The post was in response to an image accusing Netflix of carrying out a “transgender woke agenda.”
The controversy seems to stem from conservative backlash over an animated Netflix show “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” which features a transgender character. The show was canceled in 2023 after two seasons.
In addition to repeated anti-trans posts, Musk also responded to a post criticizing alleged statements made by the show’s creator, Hamish Steele, that a prominent conservative X account said “mocked” the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Steele responded to Musk’s callout on rival social media platform Bluesky saying, “It’s probably going to be a very odd day.” Steele also shared a post by TV writer Jack Bernhardt that called “Dead End” a “brilliant show about kind, wonderful characters.”
Netflix did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Analysts say the backlash might not pose as big of a threat to Netflix as Musk may be hoping for.
Netflix reported 301.63 million subscribers as of the fourth quarter of 2024, the last time it reported the metric before shifting priority to revenue over user growth. The company has a roughly $490 billion market cap, and its stock is up more than 60% in the past year.
Shares are down 4% so far this week.
“Is that going to move the needle necessarily? … You’re going to see people sign up on the back of that to counter it,” CNBC contributor Guy Adami said Wednesday on “Fast Money.”
“I don’t think this is a reason to sell the stock,” he added.
Seymour Asset Management’s Tim Seymour said though a day of headlines may move the stock around, it’s ultimately too expensive to be significantly affected by internet backlash.
“We’ve had these moments in time where, whether it was an ad campaign that went wrong or whether it was some sense that a company was aligned in a particular political channel… I don’t think that that’s going to be the reason to sell Netflix here,” Seymour said Wednesday.
The calls for a boycott mirror those against Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2023 after it released an ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. But the boycott of Bud Light, CNBC contributor Karen Finerman noted on Wednesday, yielded “far greater” destruction than any other recent examples.
“I feel like this will be very fleeting,” Finerman said.
Business
First in 60 years: Airbus board wraps-up meet in India; expansion in focus – The Times of India
Airbus’ board members completed their four-day visit to India on Thursday. India represents a crucial market for the aerospace company, as confirmed by an official, as quoted by PTI.The board conducted their first meeting in India since beginning operations here over 60 years ago during their visit, which commenced on September 29. They engaged in various activities during their stay.On Tuesday, Airbus board Chairman Rene Obermann had an meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital, the official confirmed.The board visited manufacturing facilities of Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) in Hyderabad and their supplier Dynamatic Technologies in Bengaluru.The delegation also had sessions with Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.Goyal shared on X on Thursday about his discussions with Airbus board members, headed by Chairman Rene Obermann, regarding investments and related matters. “Also, encouraged their plans to further deepen collaboration and increase investments in India, a testament to the strength and potential of India’s aerospace sector,” he said.On September 30, Airbus and Air India revealed plans for a joint venture training centre in Haryana, investing over Rs 1,000 crore in simulators to train pilots for A320 and A350 aircraft.An Airbus spokesperson, quoted by PTI, stated on September 25 that the board’s visit represents a significant milestone, emphasising India’s importance as a critical hub for global operations. “We have already crossed the milestone of sourcing over $1.4 billion in components and services annually. We are on track to significantly increase that figure, as we continue to further integrate India into our global value chain,” the spokesperson said.The spokesperson noted Airbus’ expanding investments across India, from growing engineering and digital centres in Bengaluru to expanding industrial presence.Airbus maintains substantial involvement in India’s civil aviation and defence sectors, establishing two Final Assembly Lines: one for H125 helicopters and another for C295 military aircraft, both in partnership with TASL. The H125 FAL is under development in Vemagal, Karnataka, whilst the C295 FAL is being constructed in Vadodara, Gujarat.Additionally, IndiGo and Air India have collectively ordered more than 1,000 aircraft from Airbus.
Blue chips snapped a four-day hot streak in London on Thursday, despite strong gains by Tesco, but remained in touching distance of Wednesday’s record highs.
The FTSE 100 Index closed down 18.70 points, 0.2%, at 9,427.73.
The FTSE 250 ended down just 2.40 points at 22,047.30, and the AIM All-Share advanced 2.54 points, 0.3%, at 788.95.
Investors in Tesco received a double dose of good news with better-than-expected first-half trading and a report suggesting that UK retailers are set to escape the top business rate tax band.
Shares in the Welwyn Garden City-based food retailer climbed 5.3%, the biggest riser on the FTSE 100.
Financial Times sources said the Treasury was moving to take large retail premises out of the highest bracket of the property levy after a recent “tense” meeting with chief executives on the issue.
Last year the Government proposed increasing business rates on properties with a rateable value of more than £500,000 to afford making a discount for small retail and hospitality premises permanent.
The British Retail Consortium has said up to 400 stores, including larger department stores, could shut if the higher rate goes through.
The report came as Tesco raised profit guidance after a better-than-expected first half, with the good weather helping to shrug off the impact of rising costs and intense competition.
“Competitive intensity remains elevated. However, in the first half, a better-than-expected customer response to our actions and the benefit of an extended period of good weather have helped offset the cost of our investments,” Tesco said in a statement.
Pre-tax profit at Tesco fell 6.3% to £1.31 billion in the 26 weeks to August 23 from £1.39 billion a year ago.
But adjusted operating profit rose 1.5% to £1.67 billion from £1.65 billion, beating Visible Alpha consensus of £1.56 billion, while adjusted diluted earnings per share jumped 6.8% to 15.43 pence from 14.45p.
Reflecting the better-than-expected performance, Tesco raised full-year adjusted operating profit guidance to between £2.9 billion and £3.1 billion, up from the previous range between £2.7 billion and £3.0 billion.
Jefferies analyst Frederick Wild said Tesco’s strong first half and guidance upgrade “caps a remarkable period of market share momentum, inflationary help, and weather-driven consumer spending uplift”.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Tesco’s position at the top of the UK supermarket pecking order looks “more entrenched than ever”.
The pound was quoted lower at 1.3415 US dollars at the time of the London equity market close on Thursday, compared with 1.3477 US dollars on Wednesday. The euro stood at 1.1697 US dollars, down against 1.1729 US dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 147.37 yen, higher compared with 147.15 yen.
On Friday, the Government is preparing for new economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which are likely to set the scene for tax rises at the November Budget.
The Financial Times said Labour officials fear a productivity downgrade by the OBR alone could put a dent of up to £18 billion in the public finances, contributing to an overall fiscal hole of around £30 billion.
The FT said the OBR will on Friday formally submit to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves its initial pre-measures forecasts for the economy and public finances.
These will provide an early indication as to the shortfall.
In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt advanced 1.3%.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the time of the London close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index was 0.1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite 0.2% higher.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.11%, trimmed from 4.13% on Wednesday.
The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stood at 4.70%, narrowed from 4.72%.
Joshua Mahoney, at Rostro, noted the ongoing federal government shutdown appears to be having little impact on market appetite for risk.
But he pointed to a White House memo which warned that the economy loses around 15 billion dollars in GDP for each week the government remains shut, a “sizeable headwind if the deadlock lingers”.
Back in London, 3i Group gained 4.0% after UBS raised the private equity and venture capital company to “buy” from “neutral”, and upped its price target to 4,700p from 4,450p.
UBS believes a slowdown at Netherlands-based retailer Action is “coming to an end”, making 3i’s shares more attractive.
Action is the largest portfolio asset at 3i, which UBS believes trades “as a proxy” for the retailer.
But Experian slumped 4.2% after Fair Isaac, a software firm, announced a new programme which would give mortgage lenders the option to calculate and distribute FICO credit scores directly to customers.
Citi analysts explained that as “things stand today, credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) sell the data and the FICO score to a tri-merge (merging the three reports).”
The broker noted Fair Isaac’s press release states that it is working to license its algorithm to the resellers, enabling them to pass these on to their customers, implying that this would cut out the margin that the likes of Experian and Equifax make on the FICO credit score itself.
“Our initial reaction is that this is negative for Experian and Equifax,” Citi said.
Analysts at Jefferies estimate that Fair Isaac’s new models could hurt credit bureau earnings by an average of 10% to 15%.
“By introducing a licensing programme for tri-merge resellers, Fair Isaac is effectively taking away the ability of the credit bureaus to mark up the FICO score. For the bureaus to take price, they will now have to directly negotiate with the lenders, as well as compete with each other,” Jefferies explained.
Equifax was also marked down, dropping 9.3%, while Transunion fell 12%.
Fair Isaac shares soared 21%.
BT Group fell 2.5% as Exane BNP cut the company to “underperform” from “neutral” and lowered its price target for the telecommunications provider to 150p from 160p.
Diageo edged up 0.7% on a report that the US is considering easing tariffs on Scotch whisky, a potential boost for the Johnnie Walker owner.
Brent oil continued its weak run, trading at 64.42 dollars a barrel on Thursday, down from 65.53 dollars late on Wednesday.
Gold traded at 3,830.85 dollars an ounce on Thursday, down against 3,862.37 dollars on Wednesday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Tesco, up 22.7p at 452.4p, 3i, up 168p at 4,310p, Rentokil Initial, up 9.8p at 387.2p, Croda, up 69p at 2,838p and ICG, up 54p at 2,268p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Experian, down 155p at 3,520p, BT, down 5.8p at 185.7p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 190p at 6,580p, WPP, down 10.4p at 360.4p and Fresnillo, down 64p at 2,290p.
Friday’s global economic calendar has a slew of composite PMIs readings, including in the eurozone and the UK.
Friday’s UK corporate calendar has full-year results from pub operator JD Wetherspoon.
Contributed by Alliance News
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