Hinge launches AI feature so you stop starting the conversation with 'hey'

In its latest report, Hinge found that singles are using AI to date — and they're getting in on the trend. Earlier this year, the dating app introduced AI-driven prompt feedback to help users write better profiles.

Now, Hinge is launching Convo Starters, another AI feature that seeks to help daters break the ice.

Convo Starters, which offers daters personalized tips for starting a conversation based on a potential match's prompt responses and photos, will appear when a user sends a like to someone else.

Daters will see three unique tips, each encouraging them to ask questions, share ideas, or express their opinions. The Convo Starters are optional, and users can also enable or disable the feature in their settings. Users will also write a message in their own voice.

Credit: Hinge

"We've heard from daters that not knowing what to say can hold them back from sending a comment at all," Hinge's president and CMO, Jackie Jantos, stated in a press release shared with Mashable. "With Convo Starters, we're easing that pressure. By offering gentle guidance grounded in someone's profile, we're helping daters start thoughtful, genuine conversations that show real interest — and bring them one step closer to a great first date."

Given that Hinge also recently found that Gen Z daters have more trouble initiating a deep conversation than millennials, this new feature tracks.

The AI-powered feature is available in the U.S. today. In addition to using generative AI, Convo Starters also utilizes insights from Hinge's research team and behavioral scientists, as stated in the press release.

Hinge pointed out that both Convo Starters and Prompt Feedback don't provide copy-and-paste responses for singles, as part of the app's AI principles of transparency, authenticity, and equity.

Hinge isn't the only app baking AI into its app. Before it rebranded to Bumble BFF, Bumble for Friends launched a similar feature to Convo Starters — AI icebreakers — back in 2023. And Tinder is testing an AI matching feature called Chemistry, set to launch next year.