Grindr Inc. unveiled a handful of new app features and shared more details around its premium subscription tier as part of a larger effort to integrate artificial intelligence across its LGBTQ dating platform.
The premium plan unlocks access to new AI features and deeper personalization, Grindr said Monday in a statement. The company is also investing further in AI-powered safety tools and in behind-the-scenes operations, Chief Executive Officer George Arison said in an interview. AI already writes about 70% of the app's code, he added.
"Grindr is becoming an AI native or an AI first company, and it's taking a legacy 15-plus-year-old company and converting it into an AI company as if it were built in the last two years," he said adding that Grindr's user base is typically quick to adopt emerging technologies.
The new premium tier, which is currently available as part of a beta test in Australia, New Zealand, select US cities and Canada, is aimed at users who use the app frequently but want to spend less time scrolling. It focuses on three main features:
- A "Discover" tool offering personalized daily profile suggestions based on user interactions to help find better matches faster.
- Profile Insights, a feature that aims to provide insights into profiles by showing how likely someone is to respond and how well they match their preferences.
- A-List, which uses AI to summarize and resurface past conversations to make it easier to reconnect.
The past week has been an eventful one for dating-app companies, several of which have unveiled AI-powered features meant to win over new users, especially Gen Z. Bumble last week announced an AI-powered assistant meant to act as a personal matchmaker. Meanwhile, Tinder introduced a handful of new tools, including a real-time video speed dating experience, an "Events" feature and a redesigned "Music Mode" that connects users by shared musical taste.
Other new tools from Grindr include a Health Center, which will launch first in the US, for education around sexual health, heart and metabolic health, weight management, hair loss solutions and wellness products. It will also use deeper AI for a new Smart Inbox tool, which will prioritize conversations that are most likely to lead somewhere. The company is exploring how to take learnings from a previous chatbot test and using it for a new feature called enhanced search, allowing users to surface profiles that better match their preferences. These features would be part of a separate paid tier for users down the line.
Additionally, Grindr is putting a greater focus on its heat map feature to include local bars, clubs, restaurants and gyms, places where potential matches might be hanging out. And it is testing an option to book hotels directly through the feature.
The company is also continuing to use the technology to better identify bad actors, cut down on spam and uphold community guidelines.
Arison emphasized that Grindr wants to give users more options but doesn't want them to feel forced. "The traditional Grindr that people know and love is going to stay -- all of this is an enhancement on top to make the experience better and more fun for those who want it," he said. "But we are by no means saying people must use it this way."