AI chatbots are becoming part of how some people flirt, explore intimacy, and seek emotional connection, with surveys in the US, UK, France, and Germany showing the trend is strongest among younger adults.
A July 2026 US survey found 11% of adults had held a flirty or romantic conversation with an AI chatbot, while 12% said an AI conversation had turned them on. The findings suggest AI intimacy is no longer a niche experiment, although it remains far from mainstream behaviour.
The strongest figures come from younger users. Talker Research's survey of 2,000 US adults found that 27% of Gen Z respondents had engaged in what the study described as 'naughty' conversations with AI, with the same proportion saying an AI interaction had aroused them.
The figure fell to 16% among millennials, 9% among Generation X, and 2% among baby boomers.
The survey also suggests that men were more likely than women to report having intimate conversations with AI. Around 15% of men said they had engaged in flirty or romantic chats, compared with 8% of women.
The trend extends beyond the US. Research published in Archives of Sexual Behaviour in 2026, based on 2,658 adults in Germany, found 31.6% had used AI for at least one form of sexual activity during the previous 12 months.
Younger adults particularly concentrated their interactions with AI agents, including flirtatious conversations, erotic roleplay, and virtual relationships. About 33.6% of younger participants reported this type of use, compared with 5.9% of middle-aged and 2.4% of older adults.
French research has also recorded growing interest. An Ifop survey of about 2,600 adults found 8% had engaged in erotic conversations with AI, while 6% had romantic interactions with a chatbot. Among men under 35, the figures were substantially higher.
Researchers and surveys point to several reasons for the growing use of AI for intimacy. Chatbots are available around the clock and can offer interaction without the possibility of immediate rejection.
For younger users, AI can also provide a low-pressure environment for flirting, discussing relationships, exploring sexuality or practising conversations before approaching another person.
Dedicated AI companion applications have helped drive the wider market, but mainstream chatbots are increasingly being used for romantic or flirtatious interactions as well.
Meanwhile, commercial data highlights the scale of the industry. Appfigures data indicates that romantic and NSFW AI companion applications have accumulated more than 165 million downloads and over $427 million (£316 million) in consumer spending worldwide since late 2022.
Now, apart from the consumption and commercial figures, there is another side of this phenomenon. The growing use of AI for intimacy is also creating questions about relationships and emotional dependence.
In the US survey, 24% of respondents said flirting with an AI would constitute cheating or be a relationship dealbreaker. Among Gen Z, that figure reportedly rose to 36%.
French research found that some users reported feeling dependent on romantic chatbot interactions. More than half of users of chatbot companions surveyed by Ifop said they had experienced feelings of addiction to those interactions.