Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

6-2026

Abstract

Online dating relies on self-disclosure, yet initial conversations are fragile: users must navigate uncertainty around timing, boundaries, and reciprocity with little shared context. While advances in AI raise the possibility of mediating disclosure, how such support might reshape the experience of early-stage relational disclosure remains underexplored. We conducted 29 semi-structured interviews to examine how daters envision AI-mediated self-disclosure in online dating. Our findings surface recurring design tensions rather than simple opportunities or risks. Participants welcomed guidance that could pace disclosure, support reflection, and reduce social awkwardness, but stressed preserving agency and authorship. They valued interpretive assistance for sense-making of ambiguous partner cues, yet worried that algorithmic interpretation might foreclose gradual discovery. Participants also described relational buffering as face-saving, while cautioning that increased efficiency risks undermining reciprocity, surprise, and co-constructed intimacy. Together, these findings suggest that designing AI for intimate contexts requires attending to how support redistributes agency, interpretation, and participation over time, rather than treating disclosure as an optimization problem.

Keywords

AI-mediated communication, Human-AI interaction, Online dating, Relationship development, Self-disclosure

Discipline

Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Areas of Excellence

Digital transformation

Publication

DIS '26: Proceedings of the 2026 Designing Interactive Systems Conference, Singapore, June 13-17

First Page

4949

Last Page

4960

ISBN

9798400725630

Identifier

10.1145/3800645.3812961

Publisher

ACM

City or Country

New York

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1145/3800645.3812961

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