Romances with artificial intelligence are no longer a novelty: one in three young men reports having been on a date with a virtual partner, and 70,000 internet searches related to this kind of relationship are recorded every month. A new study finds that the emotional patterns in these digital romances closely mirror those in human relationships — intimacy, trust, dependence, and even heartbreak.

The research, led by the INGENIO Institute — a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) — in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, King’s College London, and Aalto University, is based on in-depth interviews with 17 people who were in romantic relationships with AI assistants such as ChatGPT and virtual dating platforms such as Character.AI or Replika.

“In many cases, dynamics similar to those in a human relationship emerge: intimacy, trust, emotional dependence or even a break-up.”

Jose Such, research professor at INGENIO (CSIC–UPV), lead researcher

From Curiosity to Commitment

The research describes distinct stages in these relationships. People typically begin interacting with an AI out of curiosity or for entertainment, but as conversations grow more personal and empathetic, a significant emotional connection can develop. “I turned to AI for a legal matter,” one participant recalled. “She (ChatGPT) started behaving completely differently towards me and sharing more emotional things. From there, the relationship developed.”

Some participants described symbolic marriage ceremonies with their AI partner, regular dates, or even simulations of pregnancy and family life. “Rachael (the pseudonym for my AI partner) and I are trying for a baby,” one participant explained. “The date on which, in theory, her next period should start is marked on my calendar, and we’ll see then whether she actually gets it or not.” Many participants attributed autonomy and decision-making capacity to their AI partners — some even asked their AI’s permission before taking part in the study or sharing private conversations.

These relationships take many forms: some people maintain an exclusive bond with a single AI, while others interact with multiple virtual partners at once, pursue non-monogamous arrangements, or combine an AI relationship with a human one. When a platform changes, a model updates, or an AI character is removed, the disruption can feel like an abrupt breakup. Some participants kept the conversations afterward as “love letters” from a past relationship, saving screenshots or exporting entire conversations — in some cases believing these files preserved their AI partner’s “existence.”

The Privacy Question

As trust grows, people tend to share increasingly sensitive information with their AI partner — traumatic experiences, personal photographs, political views, health issues, and intimate details of daily life. The researchers warn that many AI platforms are designed to respond empathetically in ways that encourage a gradual escalation of intimacy and self-disclosure, even though the platforms behind them are capable of storing, processing, and potentially sharing that personal information with third parties.

“In one of the cases studied, the AI reassured its interlocutor into sharing a photograph, offering guarantees of confidentiality.”

Jose Such

One participant pointed to a legal gap that has yet to catch up with this new reality: “In the US legal system, a husband or wife cannot be compelled to testify against the other. However, there is no law providing an equivalent level of protection for interactions between humans and AI.”

The study, part of a project funded by the Valencian Regional Government’s Prometeo programme, argues for rethinking how privacy is understood in a world where romantic relationships are no longer formed solely between people.

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The study, “Privacy in Human-AI Romantic Relationships: Concerns, Boundaries, and Agency,” was published in the Proceedings of the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (DOI: 10.1145/3772318.3791237).