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You might think the big story out of Match Group\u2019s first-quarter earnings is Tinder\u2019s turnaround. The dating app\u2019s revenue is slightly up again<\/a> after quarter-after-quarter of declines. <\/p>\n But we\u2019d like to point to a comment the chief financial officer made about how the company is slowing its hiring right now because it needs more money to pay for AI tools for its employees.<\/p>\n Ah, yes, the good ol\u2019 \u201clet\u2019s blame AI\u201d strategy! <\/em><\/p>\n While speaking to analysts on the first-quarter earnings call, Match Group CFO Steven Bailey talked about how the dating app giant was investing in AI technology for internal use at the company \u2014 as well as how Match was paying for it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re making a big push around AI enablement. We\u2019re giving every employee in the company access to all the cutting-edge tools. We\u2019re giving them the training they need to succeed. We\u2019re setting expectations. We really want to become an AI-native company,\u201d Bailey said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe think it\u2019s a huge opportunity. But these tools cost a lot of money, as I\u2019m sure you know, and so the way we\u2019re helping to pay for that is by slowing our hiring plans for the rest of the year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The company assured investors that the impact would be cost-neutral, as the slowed hiring and lower headcount would make up for the increased software expenses. Plus, Match Group is betting that the increased productivity from employees\u2019 use of AI will ultimately increase revenue growth, the number-cruncher explained.<\/p>\n While on the surface, this looks like another example of AI taking people\u2019s jobs \u2014 in this case, forcing a company to lower its number of open positions \u2014 there\u2019s likely more nuance to this story. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s keep in mind that Match Group\u2019s flagship app, Tinder, has been struggling in recent years. This quarter may be the start of a turnaround, as monthly active users declined by 7% in March<\/a> compared with the far-steeper 10% drop a year ago. Tinder registrations also grew for the first time since 2024, but by a mere 1%, as Bloomberg<\/a> pointed out.<\/p>\n This is perhaps a positive sign for Tinder. Or it might be a brief blip driven by users\u2019 curiosity around various product improvements<\/a> and new features, like IRL events<\/a>. Time will tell. <\/p>\n Match Group remains a company that has to work to squeeze more money out of an oft-dwindling, less active user base \u2014 which, to the company\u2019s credit, it did exactly that. Match\u2019s revenue was $864 million<\/a> in the first quarter, up 4% year-over-year. However, its next-quarter estimates<\/a> are coming in lower \u2014 around $850-$860 million, down 2% to flat year-over-year.<\/p>\n All these struggles come after many months of what appears to be a growing disinterest in the use of dating apps by younger people. This generational shift sees people opting<\/a> to meet up in real-life<\/a>, perhaps by pursuing an interest, like running<\/a>, book clubs<\/a>, or a hobby that connects them<\/a> with other people, which then, in turn, expands their network, increasing their chance of meeting someone new. <\/p>\n The trend coincides with a resurgence of nostalgic tech<\/a>, like digital cameras, flip phones, boomboxes, and even landlines, signaling a generation that\u2019s feeling burned out by always-on connectivity and looking for analog pleasures. <\/p>\n Match Group is aware of this significant shift and says it\u2019s pivoting to address the challenge by increasing the number of its own IRL events. <\/p>\n \u201cGen Z desperately wants to connect. They know they want to meet new people. They just want to do it in a low-pressure, low-stakes way that doesn\u2019t feel like a job interview,\u201d Match\u2019s CFO Rascoff told investors on the call. \u201cTraditional dating apps are very highly structured and can be intimidating to a user under 30. So, I think the growth of these alternative ways to meet new people speaks to how Gen Z is trying to find lower-pressure ways to connect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve obviously adapted our roadmap to this reality,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\nDating meets a generational shift<\/h2>\n