Global market leader Match has teamed up with Google to launch its dating chatbot Lara across the Google Assistant network, after a successful run in Facebook Messenger.
From today, Match users can speak to Lara through their Google Assistant on their phone, smartwatch, laptop or Google Home smart speaker to ask for dating tips and find new matches.
Every day Lara will send through a unique Daily Match via a text message, based on a search conducted on the users Match preferences like age, location and common interests.
Using the phrase “OK Google, talk to Lara from Match”, users can then have a conversation with Lara to get suggestions for potential date locations, hooked up to a pin on Google Maps.
Lara will also proactively encourage further conversation by offering dating advice, including tips like the top turn-offs on a first date or how to overcome nervousness. As the chatbot is powered by artificial intelligence, the more a user chats with Lara, the more detailed and bespoke her responses will become.
The news follows recent innovation in smartphone app-based dating from Badoo, which announced yesterday that it will be trialling a live video streaming feature this summer to replace traditional swiping left and right.
Read more: Dating app Badoo is ditching swiping right in favour of live streaming
“This is a very exciting time for Match and puts us at the forefront of innovation in the dating industry,” said Xavier de Baillenx, an innovation leader at Match.
“We are always looking at the role technology can play in improving our members experience to offer them new ways of meeting their potential dates that will easily fit in with their busy everyday life.
“Building upon the success of Lara on Facebook, we wanted to enhance and explore the possibilities of AI, which has provided us with a great outcome so far. We look forward to developing Lara further as technology evolves.”
