Forget Smoking Or Politics, The New Dating Red Flag Is Using ChatGPT

With generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, increasingly influencing significant personal decisions, from event planning to relationship advice, a segment of the dating population is establishing a firm boundary, according to The Guardian. For a growing number of individuals, alongside smoking, alcoholism, addiction, differing political views, and unhealthy lifestyles, reliance on AI for emotional or romantic decision-making has emerged as a new red flag, viewed not only as unromantic but as a troubling sign in modern relationships.

By late 2025, the use of AI for everyday decisions has sparked a broader lifestyle debate, with critics warning that it depletes resources, undermines human thinking and creativity, erodes authenticity, and replaces genuine human connection. They argue that the tech billionaires behind these systems continue to prioritise profit over people.

As The Guardian's Alaina Demopoulos notes, ChatGPT has even managed to worsen dating. One woman's date used the app to pick a breakfast spot, a small act that revealed a bigger problem: emotional laziness. Why become close to someone who outsources every choice, even fun ones? For many, reliance on AI signals a loss of curiosity, creativity, and depth. Forming a genuine connection feels impossible with those who prefer algorithms to effort, a symptom of a love life run by code.

New York-based dating coach Ali Jackson says nearly all her clients now complain about “”chatfishing” people using AI to craft dating profiles and messages. She supports avoiding such users, noting around 10% of adults now rely on ChatGPT. For many, this dependence signals a more profound issue.

Brooklyn sound engineer Ana Pereira calls AI use “lazy”, saying it reflects an inability to think independently. She even sided with a friend in a breakup after learning the other sought emotional advice from ChatGPT instead of their partner, viewing it as avoidance of real feelings and a growing “AI ick” in modern relationships.

As AI blurs the boundaries between convenience and connection, many daters are redefining intimacy, choosing authenticity and emotional depth over algorithm-driven interactions in the search for genuine human relationships.