‘No plans’ to roll out Facebook Dating in Australia as Meta launches AI ‘dating assistant’ in US
Facebook Dating has launched an AI-driven dating assistant
Facebook Australia has revealed it doesn’t have any plans to launch Facebook Dating in Australia, despite ramping up the tools and offering in North America.
Facebook Dating is a free platform within the existing Facebook app, which claims to “[make] it easier to find love by meeting and starting conversations with people who share your interests”.
This week, Meta announced Facebook Dating would help people “avoid swipe fatigue” by launching an AI dating assistant.
Meta said the AI bot will give users “personalised help on [their] dating journey”, and will find better matches based on interests and preferences.
“The assistant allows users to go beyond traditional traits like height or education, allowing you to enter unique prompts tailored to what you’re looking for,” publicity about the tool said. “For example, you can write ‘Find me a Brooklyn girl in tech’ and the dating assistant will help you with your search. You can use the assistant to provide dating ideas or help you level up your profile.”
Facebook’s ‘dating assistant’ in action
Meta also announced Facebook Dating would launch ‘Meet Cute’ – an automated weekly “surprise match” chosen for a user by the platform. It said the feature will take the indecision out of online dating.
“Meet Cute is ideal for anyone who’s tired of swiping and is looking for a fresh, easy way to expand their typical pool of dating candidates,” Meta said.
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Meta said it’s also exploring the option of adding other frequencies into the mix for Meet Cute, but noted users can unmatch their surprise matches and opt-out any time.
The tools are being gradually rolled out across the US and Canada, where Meta said “hundreds of thousands” of 18 to 29-year-olds are already creating Facebook Dating profiles every month.
A local Meta spokesperson, however, told Mumbrella: “We currently don’t have plans to roll out Facebook Dating in Australia.”
Locally, Facebook and parent company Meta are tied up preparing for the social media minimum age requirements. From 10 December, social media platforms, including Facebook, will be required by the Australian Government to remove users who are under 16. They are also expected to implement reasonable measures to stop underage users from circumventing the system without unreasonably impacting those who are allowed to be on the platform.
The eSafety Commissioner recently released a 55-page document outlining how it expects the system to work, and the consequences for non-compliance.
