An AI dating app called ‘Known’ is gaining attention for a new matchmaking method where artificial intelligence talks directly with users to find their most compatible match.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the app, launched last July, drops the traditional swiping format where users flip through profiles. Instead, the AI conducts an interview to analyze user personalities and connect them with suitable matches.
When a user launches the app, an AI matchmaker calls them to conduct an interview lasting about 30 minutes. Questions range from basic details like jobs and hobbies to personal topics such as past relationships, religious views, and ideal types. The AI analyzes not only the spoken answers but also hesitations, intonation, and laughter.
The app completely eliminates ‘swiping,’ the core feature of traditional dating apps, introducing itself as ‘swiping-free dating.’ After finishing the AI interview, users upload their photos and wait for a suitable match to appear.
Once a match is made, both users can choose to proceed with a real meeting for a fee of 15 dollars. The app then determines the date time and restaurant, even handling the reservation. Direct messaging between the matched users opens only on the morning of the date.
Erica Solberg, a 32-year-old San Diego resident and actual user, noted that she might have swiped left on Hinge for her first match, but they actually shared a lot in common. However, that relationship did not continue after the first meeting.
The second match yielded different results. Solberg spent four hours talking with the man and went on a second date.
Celeste Amadon, co-founder and CEO of Known, explained that the business idea came from observing how traditional dating app users suffer from fatigue due to repetitive profile browsing and messaging. Amanda Gesellman, a researcher at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, also noted that a significant number of young adults are entirely avoiding dating efforts due to dating app burnout.
