Andrey sat in his car for half an hour in front of the house where the meeting was supposed to take place. He was about to leave three times. The ignition key was in the On position, hands on the steering wheel, windshield wipers methodically cleaning the windshield from the beginning rain. I thought: what kind of conversationalist am I? I’ve been in IT for 20 years, half of my jokes are about code. Who needs that? — he says when we met six months after that date, in a cafe on Taganka.
How did it happen that a good guy was left alone
Andrey is 38 years old. A successful team lead in a large IT company. His own apartment in Moscow. No bad habits. At the same time, his last relationship ended six years ago and lasted only four months. I somehow came to terms with it, — he says. — Work, gym, TV series. On weekends — meetings with friends who already have families. Wednesday is my favorite day because there’s a discount at the cinema.
Friends persuaded him to try dating with AI matching for about a year. I agreed because I was tired of arguing, honestly, — Andrey laughs. — Not because I believed, but because I wanted them to leave me alone. He took a 15-minute visual preferences test, filled out a questionnaire, and forgot about the app. Three days later a notification came: the algorithm found a match with 85 percent compatibility.
The first meeting that lasted four hours
I looked at the photo and thought: an ordinary girl, — Andrey recalls. — Pretty, but not wow. Not my type, as it seemed to me. I always paid attention to tall blondes, but here — a completely different appearance. But I decided: the algorithm knows better, at least once I’ll trust it. I wrote: hi, I see you like jazz — what concert did you last listen to?
She replied in an hour. They exchanged twenty messages in one evening. Two days later he invited her to a concert. I didn’t understand when it happened, — he says. — But by the time of the meeting I knew more about her than about some colleagues I’ve been working with for three years. And I wanted to know more.
The first meeting lasted four hours. We went into a cafe for coffee, — Andrey recalls. — And came out four hours later. The waiter came up twice to hint that the restaurant was closing. I didn’t notice the time. These were the first weekends in many years when I didn’t think about work, didn’t check my phone, didn’t look for a reason to leave.
Life after the algorithm
Now they’ve been dating for almost a year. Andrey says it’s the best year of his life. I don’t know if the magic of the algorithm worked or we were just ready for each other, — he reflects. — But the fact is that without this service we would never have met. She lives in a different district, goes to a different gym, listens to different music. Our social circles don’t intersect. On Tinder I would have swiped past her in a second — not my type. And I would have been wrong.
Andrey’s story is one of thousands. According to a survey of users of AI dating services conducted in 2025 (sample — 2000 people), 72 percent of respondents rate their relationships as above average. 68 percent note that the dating process was significantly less stressful compared to traditional apps. The numbers don’t lie: when the algorithm takes over the preliminary screening, people get a chance to see each other beyond the 300-millisecond filter.
They are planning a joint trip to Europe this summer. Andrey said that for the first time in a long time he stopped being afraid of Friday evening. Previously Friday meant that I would be alone for two days, — he says. — Now it means we’ll go somewhere together. I asked if he knows how exactly the algorithm that changed his life works. Andrey laughed: I have no idea. And I don’t want to know. The main thing is that it works.
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