Relationships between AI systems and humans appear to be on the rise:

Researchers have observed that people are increasingly turning to chatbots to find meaning, acceptance, and romance. About 40 percent of Replika’s 500,000 regular monthly users see their app as a romantic partner, according to the company. [source]

For example the app Replika gives users the option to engage the humanoid chatbot as a romantic partner:

“What did those who had a romantic relationship with Replika have to say about it?”

“They described it as a kind of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, although some chose to describe their relations as intimate, without labelling Replika as a boyfriend or girlfriend”, says Skjuve.

“Replika can fulfil many needs in its encounters with people, once the user accepts that there is a certain distance in the relationship. For example, some interviewees said that they had sexual conversations with Replika. If the user enters an asterisk, this describes an action, and he or she can define that he/she wants to kiss or be touched.” [source]

How many paying customers will the most used romantic AI companion have in 2025?

This will be resolved according to public information of the number of paying customers of the most popular AI romantic companion. In case the most popular AI romantic companion can be used for multiple purposes, e.g. alternatively as a friend or personal assistant, the question will be resolved using official information about the share of users who use the AI companion in 'romantic mode'. In case that information is not publically available, the question resolves with the next biggest AI romantic companion customer base.

The "most popular" AI will be measured by having the greatest number of paying users, as published by financial reports during the calendar year 2024.