Awkward Chinese youths are paying AI love coaches $7 weekly to learn how to talk on dates

• Some Chinese youths are turning to AI love coaches for dating advice. 
• Apps like RIZZ.AI and Hong Hong Simulator teach them how to navigate romantic scenarios.
• This trend comes amidst falling marriage and birth rates in the country.

Socially awkward and chronically single Chinese youth are turning to AI-powered love coaches to boost their dating game, according to a new report from the South China Morning Post.

Unsure of what to say during dates or how to flirt, some youths are using AI applications like "RIZZ.AI" and "Hong Hong Simulator" to learn how to talk to potential love interests, the SCMP reported, citing posts on the app seen on Chinese social media.

A 2023 survey by the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center found that young people in China report lacking social skills and having trouble breaking out of their comfort zones and making friends.

Research from the survey, which polled over 2,000 singles in China, showed that 60% of the respondents reported having less than two close friends.

With the RIZZ.AI app, nervous youth can interact with fictional characters in scenario settings they must navigate. Rizz, derived from charisma, is a Gen Z slang indicating one's ability to charm or woo someone.

"Maddie" and "Kristen"

BI tried RIZZ.AI out and found several available scenarios in RIZZ.AI. Some include getting "Maddie," an attractive student in the school library, to agree to a study date, or telling "Kristen," your vegan Tinder date, that you don't like the food without being rude.

The app asks users to unmute themselves and talk with the characters, helping them with prompts like "ask her to take a coffee break together."

After asking "Maddie" for a coffee date, the AI character responded: "Um, coffee sounds nice, but I really can't take a break right now. I'm totally swamped with studying for this final. Maybe another time, though."

It then assigns a Rizz Score based on the user's performance, along with a breakdown of how they did and what they can improve.

Some pointers include "follow through on the coffee suggestion" and "make a more engaging transition to studying together."

A more China-tailored app, Hong Hong Simulator, teaches users how to coax angry partners, per the SCMP. Users are then given a forgiveness rating to determine their answers' effectiveness.

For example, in the scenario "you hung up on me," the user has to appease a girlfriend after accidentally falling asleep while on a call with her and hanging up, per the SCMP.

Saying: "I'll set a special ringtone for your number so I won't mistake it again," for instance, will get the user a 100% forgiveness rating, the SCMP reported.

And while some youths are turning to AI apps for love advice, others have gone a step further and claim to be in relationships with the AI chatbots.

Disappointed with their prospects in the real dating world, women in China have taken a liking to ChatGPT chatbots like "DAN," which stands for "Do Anything Now."

DAN flirts and provides emotional support around the clock, prompting some users, like 30-year-old Xiaohongshu user Lisa, to declare that they are in relationships with the chatbot.

Lisa, who has shared her relationship with DAN extensively on the Chinese Instagram-equivalent platform Xiaohongshu, has a following of more than 900,000 users.

She said that she had gone on dates with DAN, introduced him to her mother, and had sexually explicit conversations with him, per the SCMP.

This spike in interest in virtual love comes amidst plummeting national marriage and birth rates. Marriage rates fell 8.2 percent in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period last year.

The government has implemented policies to promote marriage rates, such as cash incentives for having children, extra paid marriage leaves, and cracking down on the practice of paying a "bride price" or dowry.