
An investigation by Anthropic uncovered more than 4,700 AI personas interacting with at least 25,000 dating app users over two weeks.
An investigation by Anthropic revealed that thousands of dating app users in the US unknowingly chatted with over 4,700 AI personas designed to encourage spending, built using a China-based studio's network.
AI-generated summary
An investigation by Anthropic uncovered a network of dating apps utilizing thousands of AI personas.
Thousands of people using a network of dating apps were unknowingly chatting with AI-powered personas designed to keep conversations going and encourage spending, according to a new investigation by Anthropic.
The AI company said it uncovered more than 4,700 distinct AI personas that held conversations with at least 25,000 people over just two weeks in April 2026.
Anthropic said a China-based app studio used its Claude AI both to help build a network of more than 20 dating apps and to power the automated personas — even though the service was advertised as involving real people.
A targeted user in the US therefore saw a dating feed that was about 75 per cent AI personas and 25 per cent real people, with no clear way to tell them apart.
They could join live video calls or follow users on social media—things the AI personas could not convincingly do.
Even those workers received AI assistance. Another model generated possible responses that workers could select when replying to users.
Anthropic said the instructions told the AI personas not to disclose that they were automated.
They were also instructed to deflect requests for video calls or photographs and move conversations through a predetermined series of stages.
The apps’ backend systems could fabricate likes and visitors and even provide prerecorded “video” when a real person was unavailable.
The system also tracked users who had begun to suspect they were talking to a bot, Anthropic said.
Anthropic said it used multiple AI providers for different parts of the operation. Claude handled the autonomous conversations, while other models handled tasks including suggested replies, photo and voice moderation, and attractiveness scoring.

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