AI companies claim their assistants can do just about anything these days.
But when it comes to dating, the technology has stayed somewhat on the sidelines—mostly helping to shape algorithms for dating apps or providing generic advice to users.
Now, one AI startup is hinting that its assistant can take a more active role in relationships after all.
In a now-viral video with over 3.2 million views on X, a startup called Orchid launched its flagship product: an AI personal assistant (also named Orchid) that can perform tasks by simply texting it as if it were a friend.
In essence, it claims to work like many other AI personal assistants. The tool integrates with other applications such as a calendar or Google Drive, thereby allowing the assistant to keep track of tasks across platforms. But in an effort to set itself apart, Orchid’s launch video hinted at a very different use for the technology.
“Instead of making it feel like a typical product video, we wanted to build a story around a real situation,” the team explained in a behind-the-scenes video on X.
The video, shot using a trendy warm-toned film aesthetic, follows a day in the life of a couple where one of the individuals forgets about their anniversary.
Frustrated by the situation, the girlfriend in the relationship texts her Orchid assistant that her partner forgot the special occasion. The Orchid assistant then notifies the boyfriend about the forgotten anniversary, with him then turning to Orchid to reserve a dinner date and schedule a flower delivery.
“Introducing Orchid, the first assistant that actually gets you,” the video’s caption said. “It remembers what you forget. Down to the flower.”
“Adult babies uninterested in the world”
While the introductory video certainly branched out from the more traditional uses for AI assistants, like keeping a tidy inbox, viewers on social media have not necessarily embraced Orchid’s approach.
“[We] are living in dante’s inferno,” one user said in reaction to the video. Another simply responded with one word, “lame.”
The flurry of comments continued, with over 600 replies at the time of publication. “Tech people need to stop,” one added. Another user said, “I threw up in my mouth.”
For some, the disapproval came along with more pointed criticism about who this tool aims to serve, pointing out how the technology will allow users to offload human emotions and responsibilities in a relationship.
“New: An AI for perpetuating your dead-end relationship that both parties secretly hate,” a user responded to the video on X.
Another echoed the sentiment, adding, “Discounting everything else, what an amazing example they chose to showcase their product with. Forgetting your own anniversary. Advertised to adult babies uninterested in the world they live in.”
We’ve reached out to Orchid for comment on the backlash.
Tech giants have also stumbled with AI marketing
Opposition to using AI as a means to outsource enriching human experiences is not new.
Back in 2024 during the summer Olympics, Google released an ad for its LLM Gemini, essentially inviting users to write fan letters to athletes using AI. The search giant eventually pulled the commercial due to backlash.
It’s not even just AI. Technology as a whole tends to be viewed unfavorably when it’s marketed as a means of replacing, not aiding, creative judgement. Just a few months before the Google controversy, Apple had to pull an ad in which it tried marketing iPads by pressing down on analog creative tools with a hydraulic press.
While hundreds on social media continue to wonder who exactly Orchid is supposed to serve, or if an AI relationship manager should be something that exists in the first place, others have a theory about the launch.
“I think they knew what they were doing and hoped the ragebait worked,” a user said on X. “Unfortunately it did, and I’m pissed at this story choice.”
