BBC NEWS - Nov 11 - Match.com's chatbot Lara launched in France in 2016 and then rolled out in the UK in April 2017, to help potential clients get started in their search for love by setting up their Match profile for them. Match claims that 300k people a month complete their profiles with Lara. Lara can operate in 12 languages, asking users simple questions about what they are looking for and what they are like. Experts say it can also encourage people to be more honest. "The profile is the big hurdle for the industry," says Mark Brooks, a dating sector consultant. "People don't really want to create a profile, it's not much fun. But if you are having a conversation with somebody they will be more willing. And if you can create a profile from a conversation it will probably be closer to the truth." Match also launched Julia, a similar chatbot for its over-50s dating site Our Time. In future though, a chatbot could offer a lot more to the dating space than getting you started on your search for love. "It's a strange industry," says Mark Brooks. "If we do a good job we wave goodbye to our customers. There's a lot we are missing out on by not helping people with their relationships once they have found that person." "Maybe chatbots can be used to train people how to date. There's a lot of psychology involved, best practice. It could probably give you tips and tricks," says Srini Janarthanam from Chatomate, talking at at iDate.
by Zoe Kleinman
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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team
