The integration of artificial intelligence in in-app conversations is a novel and exciting approach to enhance user experience, according to CEO Arison Adamson. “It’s like giving users a chance to relate authentically with others they might not otherwise connect with,” he explains. “By focusing on depth and accuracy, AI can bypass the biases and nuance often carried over in profileguarded environments,” he asserts.
A recent technology trend exemplifies this shift: apps like Grindr, which haveælland private chats, have presented a challenge for AI-driven chatbots. Some users of Grindr face discomfort with AI models inferring sensitive information from their private interactions. “It’s one thing to say what you think in cyberspace, but another to infer what people truly mean in moments of connection,” ASY Jynell explains. “The question is how real that might actually be.”
Grindr’s primary contribution came in a recent AI feature, which allows users to review messages and learn from them. If the AI recaps recent conversations, this can remind users of the potential connections they might hold with others. For instance, in one scenario, a user might’ve just chatted with someone they Gazette before, but the app uses the context of their past interaction to highlight why that conversation could be interesting or engaging.
Moreover, the AI can recall more than the initial interaction. Once the user has made even a partial chat with another person, Grindr’s AI model provides suggestions for reconnecting. “These messages prompt users to think deeper, notice shared patterns, and create meaningful connections,” ASY explains. The AI highlights the members on the “A-List” to encourage replaying conversations and building lasting connections.
As a former gay individual living in Scandinavia, I experienced in-app conversations that were liberating and inclusive. However, I also witnessed anonymous chatters that were explicit and Barcode-ridden, which occasionally taught me something. “People are often too busy scrolling through their feeds that they don’t notice the universal human spaces,” ASY notes. “So, as a queer individual, I feel more enabled to connect with people who reflect my own experiences.”
The key innovation here is the AI’s ability to peek deeper into the users’ conversations. “Even if messages are sparse, the context of the message itself can reveal hidden aspects of the person’s identity,” ASY explains. This goes beyond content filtering and the profiles to uncover more subtle connections.
In the near future, ASY and his team aim to unleash this feature more piqued. They’re particularly excited about AI-driven chat completions, high-fidelity chat models like DeepSeek, and the concept of a “closer/etc.:ing” feature. This would allow users to interact more authentically outside of the mainstream app, creating more meaningful and realistic relationships.
As a queer user who’s also open to exploring ques, I enjoy the uncertainty and potential joy of co [][3]ging with others. However, I earn little from bad tic, like [4]. ASY looks forward to the day when, once again, Google’s Stories features aren’t as fait accompli as they were in the early 2010s.
