AI Girlfriend Statistics (2026)

How many people use AI girlfriends and companions

• 19% of U.S. adults say they have chatted with an AI system meant to simulate a romantic partner, according to a Wheatley Institute report published in February 2025.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, “Counterfeit Connections: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation”, Feb 2025. Sample: 2,969 U.S. adults, including an oversample of young adults. Source

• About 1 in 7 (15%) U.S. young adults ages 18 to 30 who are dating, engaged or married say they regularly chat with an AI romantic companion.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431. Source

• 4% of U.S. adults say they use AI chatbots for companionship, and 10% say they use them for emotional support or advice, according to Pew Research Center.

  Pew Research Center, “Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact”, Jun 17, 2026. Sample: 5,119. Source

• 27% of U.S. adult internet users have used AI chatbots for social, emotional or personal purposes (such as companionship when lonely, discussing feelings, roleplay or romantic chat) in the past six months, according to Elon University.

  Imagining the Digital Future Center and Elon University Poll, Elon University (fielded by YouGov), “The Rise of AI Companions”, Sep 2026. Sample: 4,031 screened adults; 1,000 'AI companion users' surveyed in depth. Source

• 16% of U.S. singles have interacted with AI as a romantic companion, including 33% of Gen Z singles (ages 18 to 27) and 23% of Millennial singles (ages 28 to 43).

  Match and the Kinsey Institute (Singles in America, data collected by Dynata), “Singles in America 2025 (14th annual)”, Jun 10, 2025. Sample: 5,001. Source

• 11% of U.S. adults have had a flirty or romantic conversation with an AI chatbot, including 15% of men and 8% of women.

  Talker Research, “Poll: 1 in 10 Americans have had a flirty conversation with AI”, Jul 22, 2026. Sample: 2,000. Source

• 33% of UK adults used AI models for emotional purposes (companionship, emotional support or social interaction) in the past year; 8% do so weekly and 4% daily, according to the UK AI Security Institute.

  UK AI Security Institute (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology), “Frontier AI Trends Report”, Dec 18, 2025. Sample: 2,028. Source

Who uses them

• In a U.S. survey published in 2025, 31% of men and 23% of women ages 18 to 30 said they had chatted with an AI system that simulates a romantic partner, compared with 15% of men and 10% of women over 30.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, “Counterfeit Connections: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation”, Feb 2025. Sample: 2,969 U.S. adults, including an oversample of young adults. Source

• Among U.S. adults ages 18 to 30 in committed relationships, 17.7% of men and 12.3% of women report regularly chatting with an AI romantic companion.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431. Source

• 7% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 say they use AI chatbots for companionship, compared with 1% of those 65 and older.

  Pew Research Center, “How Americans' opinions and use of AI differ by age”, Jun 17, 2026. Sample: 5,119 (723 ages 18 to 29). Source

• Among U.S. internet-using adults, 36% of those ages 18 to 29 and 38% of those 30 to 49 qualify as AI companion users, compared with 17% of those 50 to 64 and 14% of those 65 and older; men 30%, women 24%, under Elon's broad definition (any social, emotional or personal use, including entertainment and advice).

  Imagining the Digital Future Center and Elon University Poll, Elon University (fielded by YouGov), “The Rise of AI Companions: topline and methodology”, Sep 2026. Sample: 4,031. Source

How people use them

• U.S. adults who chat with an AI romantic partner report spending an average of 51 minutes per week doing so.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, “Counterfeit Connections: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation”, Feb 2025. Sample: 1,890 AI engagers within a sample of 2,969 U.S. adults. Source

• 16% of U.S. adults who use AI relationship technologies say they have a sexual conversation with an AI companion at least once a week.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, “Counterfeit Connections: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation”, Feb 2025. Sample: 1,890 AI engagers within a sample of 2,969 U.S. adults. Source

• Among U.S. young adults in relationships who use AI romantic companions, 30% say their partner has no knowledge of it, and 69% say it is somewhat or extremely important that their partner not learn their full use.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431 (user subgroup size not stated). Source

• Among U.S. AI companion users, 9% used AI for romantic chat and 20% used it when feeling lonely in the past six months, according to Elon University.

  Imagining the Digital Future Center and Elon University Poll, Elon University (fielded by YouGov), “The Rise of AI Companions”, Sep 2026. Sample: 1,000. Source

• 12% of U.S. singles ages 18 to 24 tried an AI companion app in the past three months; most of them used it for boredom and entertainment (45%) or role-play (43%) rather than genuine connection (38%) or processing emotions (26%).

  Match Group Research Team, “AI Is Everywhere. Romance is Still Off-Limits.”, Jun 18, 2026. Sample: approximately 1,000 singles ages 18 to 39 (subgroup size not stated). Source

What people think about AI relationships

• 50% of U.S. young adults in relationships who use AI romantic companions say they wish their real-life partner behaved more like their AI companion.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431 (user subgroup size not stated). Source

• Among U.S. young adults ages 18 to 30 in relationships, about a third consider using an AI companion a form of cheating, while 4 in 10 say it is not and 28% are neutral.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431. Source

• 40% of U.S. singles say having an AI boyfriend or girlfriend counts as cheating.

  Match and the Kinsey Institute (Singles in America, data collected by Dynata), “Singles in America 2025 (14th annual)”, Jun 10, 2025. Sample: 5,001. Source

• Two in five U.S. singles ages 18 to 39 say they would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app, rising to 51% among women ages 18 to 24.

  Match Group Research Team, “AI Is Everywhere. Romance is Still Off-Limits.”, Jun 18, 2026. Sample: approximately 1,000. Source

• 6% of U.S. adults think they could definitely or probably have a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot companion, while 78% say they definitely could not.

  YouGov, “Americans are increasingly concerned about AI exacerbating mental health problems”, May 12, 2026. Sample: 1,099 and 1,082 (two surveys). Source

• 25% of U.S. adults under 40 believe AI girlfriends and boyfriends have the potential to replace real-life romantic relationships (28% of young men vs. 22% of young women).

  Institute for Family Studies / YouGov, “Artificial Intelligence and Relationships: 1 in 4 Young Adults Believe AI Partners Could Replace Real-life Romance”, Nov 2024. Sample: 2,000. Source

• 50% of U.S. adults say the increased use of AI will make people worse at forming meaningful relationships with others; 5% say it will make them better.

  Pew Research Center, “How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society”, Sep 17, 2025. Sample: 5,023. Source

What research says about wellbeing

• In a U.S. survey published in 2025, 52% of women who used AI relationship platforms reported high loneliness, compared with 39% of women who did not; the authors say it is unclear whether lonely people seek out the apps or the apps increase loneliness.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, “Counterfeit Connections: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation”, Feb 2025. Sample: 2,969 U.S. adults. Source

• Among U.S. young adults in relationships, regularly using an AI romantic companion was associated with 36% higher odds of a highly satisfied relationship but a 46% lower likelihood of a highly stable one; the data are cross-sectional.

  Wheatley Institute, Brigham Young University, and Institute for Family Studies, “Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Impacting Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood”, May 18, 2026. Sample: 2,431. Source

• In an MIT Media Lab four-week randomized controlled study of 981 adults, no assigned chatbot condition significantly changed loneliness, but participants who chose to use the chatbot more each day showed higher loneliness, less socializing with real people and more emotional dependence.

  MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (arXiv preprint), “How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Extended Chatbot Use: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study”, Mar 21, 2025. Sample: 981 completers (2,539 enrolled). Source

• Experiments published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that interacting with an AI companion reduced people's momentary loneliness on par only with interacting with another person, and more than other activities such as watching videos.

  Journal of Consumer Research (Harvard Business School and Wharton authors), “AI Companions Reduce Loneliness”, Jun 25, 2025. Source

• A 12-month longitudinal study of more than 2,000 adults in four Western countries found that increased social chatbot use predicted increased loneliness, and that feeling less socially connected predicted later increases in social chatbot use.

  Psychological Science (Association for Psychological Science); University of British Columbia authors, “How Does Turning to AI for Companionship Predict Loneliness and Vice Versa?”, Mar 23, 2026. Sample: more than 2,000 adults. Source

Loneliness in the United States

• Approximately half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory on loneliness and isolation.

  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community”, May 3, 2023. Source

• About one in five U.S. adults experience loneliness "a lot of the day yesterday" (20% in Gallup's February 2026 measurement), up from 17% to 18% through much of 2022 to 2024.

  Gallup, “U.S. Depression Rate Remains Elevated”, Apr 21, 2026. Sample: 5,017 U.S. adults. Source

• About one in six U.S. adults (16%) say they feel lonely or isolated from those around them all or most of the time, according to Pew Research Center.

  Pew Research Center, “Men, Women and Social Connections”, Jan 16, 2025. Sample: 6,204 U.S. adults. Source

• 48% of U.S. adults say they at least sometimes feel they lack companionship, and 51% at least sometimes feel isolated from others, according to the American Psychological Association's Stress in America 2026 survey.

  American Psychological Association, “Stress in America 2026: The stress of uncertainty”, Oct 2026. Sample: 3,132. Source

• 42% of U.S. adults were unpartnered (not living with a spouse or partner) in 2023, down from 44% in 2019, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.

  Pew Research Center, “Share of US adults living without a romantic partner declines slightly”, Jan 8, 2025. Source

The market

• AI companion apps generated $150 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, more than 12 times the level of the first quarter of 2023, according to Sensor Tower.

  Sensor Tower, “State of AI Apps 2026: APAC Edition”, Jun 11, 2026. Source

• Appfigures estimates that consumers spent $55 million in AI companion apps on the App Store and Google Play in 2024, up 652% year over year, and that the apps were downloaded 118 million times that year.

  Appfigures, “Rise of AI Apps: Key Trends Shaping 2025”, Jan 2025. Sample: Top 1,000 AI apps classified into 12 segments. Source

• Grand View Research forecasts that the global AI companion market, which it sizes at USD 36.8 billion in 2025, will grow to USD 318.0 billion by 2033, a compound annual growth rate of 31.0% from 2026 to 2033 (a forecast, under a broad definition that includes enterprise assistants).

  Grand View Research, “AI Companion Market Size & Research Report, 2026-2033”, Jun 2026. Source

Search interest

• U.S. Google search interest in "ai girlfriend" hit its five-year peak (100 on Google Trends' 0 to 100 relative scale) in the week of March 1 to 7, 2026.

  Google (Google Trends), “Google Trends, Interest over time: "ai girlfriend", United States, past 5 years”, Nov 12, 2026. Source

• In the week of November 1 to 7, 2026, U.S. Google search interest in "ai girlfriend" stood at 47 on Google Trends' relative scale, compared with 24 in the same week of 2023 and 1 in early November 2021.

  Google (Google Trends), “Google Trends, Interest over time: "ai girlfriend", United States, past 5 years”, Nov 12, 2026. Source

Quick answers

Numbers that don't hold up

These figures are widely repeated, but the original sources say something different.

• “The AI companion market will reach $140.75 billion by 2030.”

  Grand View Research's current edition sizes the market at $36.8 billion in 2025 and forecasts $318.0 billion by 2033, under a broad definition that includes enterprise assistants. The older figure has been replaced. Source

• “An MIT randomized trial proved that heavy chatbot use causes loneliness.”

  The trial randomized the type of chatbot, not how much people used it, and found no condition that changed loneliness. The link between heavy use and loneliness is a correlation, as the authors say. Source

• “AI companions reduce loneliness as much as a human relationship, for good.”

  The Journal of Consumer Research experiments measured loneliness right after a session, and over one week in one study. They show a short-term effect, not a lasting one. Source

• “57% of U.S. adults are lonely, according to Cigna (2025).”

  That figure is not in Cigna's 2025 report, which gives only generation and subgroup figures. Cigna's latest figure for all adults is 58%, from 2023. Source

• “20% to 30% of partnered young adults have experimented with AI romantic companions.”

  The Secret Soulmates report's own results section gives 34% who have at least experimented, and 15% who use one regularly. Source