Key facts
- Match Group expects to spend around $10 million on AI tools in 2026, CFO Steve Bailey told Reuters.
- Match Group is slowing hiring to offset rising AI costs and is not laying off employees, Bailey said.
- Match Group estimated fourth-quarter revenue of $865 million to $875 million, against LSEG-compiled analyst expectations of $871.4 million.
- Bailey said Tinder's US daily active user improvement was largely driven by better algorithms using AI to analyze unstructured data.
Tinder's daily active users in the US returned to annual growth in October, Match Group chief financial officer Steve Bailey told Reuters on Monday. Bailey did not disclose the monthly numbers. He said the improvement was largely driven by better algorithms, helped by the use of AI to analyze unstructured data and identify more compatible users.
Tinder's global daily active users had returned to year-over-year growth in September for the first time in three and a half years. Match Group reported a 1% drop in Tinder's global daily active users for the third quarter, compared with a 10% decline a year earlier.
Dating apps have turned to AI as younger Gen Z users' growing disillusionment with endless swiping fuels weaker user engagement. Last month, rival Bumble struck a $1.3 billion deal with Ithaca Holdings to go private after struggling for years to revive growth.
Match Group expects to spend around $10 million on AI tools in 2026. Bailey said the company is slowing hiring to offset rising AI costs and is not laying off employees. Match Group estimated fourth-quarter revenue of between $865 million and $875 million, compared with analysts' expectations of $871.4 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.