Sales Flowers At The Fringes

My worry for the AI matchmaker thesis is that singles don't want realistic, good-on-paper matches.

Customers hire me for matchmaking precisely because I deliver unrealistic matches they can’t get elsewhere.

AI pairing sounds nice, but actually think about the UX.

Would you…

— Blaine Anderson (@datingbyblaine) April 15, 2026

I was startled to read that angles of AI are being pursued by all manner of new entrants into what they see as tired ol' spaces in need of disruption. Although perhaps unsurprised when discovering this extends to fields hitherto the preserve of the human touch. In this case, 'matchmaking'.

I’m just skeptical that AI pairing meshes with how people actually date buy.

This doubt of a real-life practitioner did echo with me around our solution sell endeavours.

I thought less about the 'user experience' as such - mind you, surely even with commodity purchases, there seems yearning for something that separates suppliers, often down to sheer personality - but more where the true solution may well be hiding...

There feels valid crossovers.

As expectations inevitably change, the initial wishlist of traits can prove fanciful.

Then away from the numbers around 'specs', what about any 'good personality/vibes fit'? How you and vendor gel and rub along becomes paramount. Can any amount of AI accurately foretell this?

Glancing from the 'omitted variable problem'. Where AI optimises for what's observable but misses the unmeasured drivers of real-world success.

In part, I'm also reminded of the "free-perfect-now" fantasy.

Practically impossible to ever have everything.

How do you deliver matches otherwise liable to be dismissed as in the unrealistic category to both parties?

After all, as the dater app cynics pointed out, people usually can't even express themselves or their ideals accurately. Nearly always ending up with nothing like they thought they'd get when setting out.

For as I all-too-often experience, the winning combos appear around the edges. Those links which can typically get overlooked. Yet when made, strike gold.

Does each 'market leader' hold a monopoly?

As one wag quipped in response, 'aspirational dating' is why everyone is single.

Beware the 'player' too;

"being good at dating apps is mostly orthogonal to being a good spouse".

Can vendors, as daters, that game the system really prove worthwhile after signing on the dotted line?

Imagine asking a prospect this. 'Happy to let AI choose your future life-partner?' If not, then why do so for that key supplier partnership you about to embark on...