Forget swiping right…
A bizarre new AI-powered dating service is sweeping across California college campuses by replacing endless swiping with computer-generated matchmaking that promises to find students more compatible dates.
Ditto, a startup founded in 2024 by former UC Berkeley students, is expanding rapidly after ditching the Tinder-style model in favor of an AI-driven system that pairs users based on their interests.
Instead of scrolling through profiles, students complete a survey that allows the platform’s AI to determine their matches.
New pairings are generated every Wednesday, giving matched students the chance to choose a time that works for both.
The AI then goes a step further by creating an itinerary for their first date.
Although the company launched in Berkeley, it now operates on campuses across the country, including nine universities in California.
Ditto says its AI-first approach is already resonating with Gen Z.
According to the company, it has arranged more than 12,000 dates, with 92% of matched participants saying they wanted to go on a second date.
The startup bills itself as a replacement for what it describes as outdated online dating.
“For the past 20 years, we’ve connected in primitive ways,” Ditto says on its website. “But now … AI brings your ‘profiles’ to life as agents.”
The app’s rise comes as loneliness continues to draw national attention.
Ditto has arranged more than 12,000 dates, with 92% of paired participants saying they want to go on date number two, as cited by FOX40.
In a 2023 advisory, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy described loneliness as an “epidemic.”
“We have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis,” Murthy said.
Whether AI can truly replace swipes remains to be seen, but Ditto is already betting that college students will leave a primitive Tinder in the past.
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