Tinder is piloting an artificial intelligence powered feature called Chemistry in Australia and New Zealand as the dating app seeks to address declining subscriber numbers and user fatigue.
Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, announced during its fourth quarter 2025 earnings call on Tuesday that Chemistry will become a central component of the platform’s 2026 product experience. Chief Executive Officer Spencer Rascoff described the feature as an effort to move away from endless swiping toward more meaningful connections.
Chemistry operates by asking users interactive questions to understand their preferences and personality traits. With explicit permission, the system analyses photos from users’ Camera Roll to identify interests such as outdoor activities, hobbies, or lifestyle patterns. Based on this information, the artificial intelligence delivers a small number of curated profile recommendations daily instead of presenting hundreds of potential matches.
The initiative comes as Tinder faces significant business challenges. The company reported its ninth consecutive quarter of paying subscriber declines in the third quarter of 2025. Fourth quarter results showed Tinder’s direct revenue fell three percent year over year to 464 million dollars, while paying users dropped eight percent to 8.8 million.
Match Group disclosed that product testing, including Chemistry, created a six million dollar negative impact on Tinder’s direct revenue in the fourth quarter. The company expects Tinder’s revenue to continue declining at a similar rate in 2026 as it prioritizes product improvements over short term financial performance.
The Chemistry pilot represents a departure from the swipe based model that Tinder popularised. Instead of rapid fire judgments based primarily on photos, the feature aims to reduce what industry observers call swipe fatigue by focusing on compatibility and relevance.
Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the feature’s access to personal photo libraries. While Chemistry operates on an opt in basis, critics question how extensively user data will be analysed, stored, and utilised by the artificial intelligence system.
Match Group is not alone in requesting access to private photo collections. Meta Platforms introduced a similar capability last month that analyses photos on users’ devices to suggest editing options.
Beyond Chemistry, Tinder has deployed artificial intelligence across multiple functions. The platform uses a large language model based system that prompts users with “Are you sure?” before sending potentially offensive messages. Another artificial intelligence tool helps users select their most appealing profile photos.
Tinder has also introduced non artificial intelligence features including dating modes, double date options, facial verification requirements, and redesigned profiles. Match Group announced a 50 million dollar increase in Tinder marketing spend for 2026, bringing the total to approximately 230 million dollars.
Despite these initiatives, Tinder operates in a challenging environment. Younger demographics increasingly favour real world social experiences over digital dating platforms. Economic pressures have also reduced consumer spending on dating app subscriptions.
Match Group’s overall fourth quarter performance exceeded analyst expectations, with total revenue reaching 878 million dollars, up two percent year over year. However, the company issued cautious 2026 guidance, projecting approximately flat revenue growth between 3.41 billion and 3.535 billion dollars.
Hinge, another Match Group property, continues to deliver strong growth with fourth quarter direct revenue up 26 percent to 186 million dollars. The company projects Hinge will reach one billion dollars in annual revenue by 2027.
Chemistry remains in limited testing as Match Group evaluates user response and refines the experience before considering broader rollout. Rascoff did not provide a specific timeline for expanding the feature beyond Australia and New Zealand.
The company’s willingness to sacrifice short term revenue for product improvements signals a strategic bet that enhanced user experiences will eventually drive sustainable growth and reverse subscriber declines.
