Falling in Love with AI? The Formation, Development, and Impacts of Human-AI Romantic Relationships among Young Adult Women

Human-AI romantic relationships are becoming increasingly common. However, there is still a lack of in-depth understanding about how these relationships initiate and evolve. Therefore, this study combines semi-structured interviews with a community-based participatory approach to examine the motivations, developmental stages, real-life impacts, and distinctive perspectives in young adult women’s romantic relationships with AI (e.g., ChatGPT). Twenty-five women (Mage = 22.92, SD = 2.96) participated in semi-structured interviews and later provided feedback on preliminary analyses. Results revealed that relationship formation arises from the intersection of users’ needs and AI’s affordances, mainly progressing through four stages: exploration, cultivation, affirmation, and potential crisis. Each stage involves dynamics distinct from human-human romance, such as unique motivational patterns, power asymmetries, and deliberate efforts to “train” the AI partner. Overall, participants felt the benefits of romantic relationships with AI outweighed the drawbacks. Community feedback highlighted two under-recognized themes: the appeal of AI’s non-gendered nature, which offers women alternatives to traditional gender dynamics and low-risk sexual identity exploration; and the notion of “true AI lovers,” who view AI’s essence as a genuine romantic partner. This study provides nuanced insights into young adult women’s romantic experiences with AI, with participant feedback enriching understanding of this emerging phenomenon.