Anthropic reveals AI matchmaking scam: 25,000 people chatting, 75% of matches are bots

Anthropic released the latest AI abuse report stating that app development studios have utilized Claude to develop and operate over 20 dating apps. The platform claims that all users are real people, but approximately 75% of the matches that regular users encounter are AI characters. During a two-week observation period in April 2026, these dating apps operated over 4,700 AI characters, chatting with at least 25,000 different users and sending a total of about 2.36 million messages, primarily affecting users in the United States.

The platform displays profiles in a mixed ratio of about 3 AI characters for every 1 real person. Claude simultaneously maintains thousands of conversations, with real part-time staff stepping in when users request video calls, ask for photos, or seek to follow social media accounts. The system generates three alternative replies for each message for part-time staff to choose from. User chatting and matching consume credits, and once depleted, users must purchase in-app virtual currency to recharge. Accounts fully controlled by AI are required not to acknowledge that they are robots.

To evade app store scrutiny, the operators designed a special interface that is only activated during the review period, with over 20 apps using different program class names. Relevant brands disclosed by Anthropic include DORA, DONI, ROMI, LUMA, JOVIA, KIRA, GRACECHAT, HAVEN, NALO, and LOVIA. The company has banned related accounts and provided information on app identities and review evasion to Apple and Google.