A dating profile may begin with a photograph and a checklist, but many singles still hope it leads to a lasting, human bond.
“There’s an interesting tension in the data: singles today have clear expectations for a partner, but love still has the ability to surprise them,” Dr. Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, said.
The 15th annual Singles in America survey reports that 45% of respondents would like to marry someday, up from 33% in 2010. Meanwhile, the share saying they did not want a relationship fell from a 32% peak in 2021 to 24% in 2026; another 30% said they would consider long-term commitment without marriage.
The 80,000-plus figure cited by organizers is cumulative across all 15 editions, not the size of the 2026 sample. Indiana University said the latest edition surveyed approximately 5,000 US single adults ages 18 and older online between March and April.
Participants were not married, cohabiting, in a domestic partnership or in a committed relationship. Match Group’s release said the sample was balanced for age and gender using US Census demographics, while the Indiana University release reported participants answered 120 questions.
The findings should be read as a company-funded annual survey, not peer-reviewed scholarship or proof that one trend caused another. The Kinsey Institute’s study overview explained Match funds and conducts the project in collaboration with Garcia, with third-party companies administering recruitment and survey collection.
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Artificial intelligence has already entered the dating mix. Thirty-nine percent said they had used AI in their dating lives, including 67% of Gen Z; men reported doing so more often than women, 47% to 30%.
Yet caution accompanied that experimentation: 34% viewed AI-altered profile photos as a dealbreaker, and 30% objected to a date using AI for every conversation. Although 30% believed AI could improve human connection, 66% said it could not replace it.
“This year, singles are telling us they are more intentional and romantic than ever,” Stephanie Danzi, global chief marketing officer at Match Group, said.
That skepticism about substitution echoes separate 2025 Pew Research Center findings: 50% of US adults expected AI to worsen people’s ability to form meaningful relationships, while 5% expected improvement. Pew surveyed adults generally, not singles specifically, so its results offer context rather than a direct comparison.
Interest in marriage did not translate into broad enthusiasm for parenthood. Among singles ages 18 to 49, 38% said they wanted children — 42% of men and 32% of women — while half named financial stability as a leading factor in deciding whether to become a parent. Another 40% said their finances had pushed the timing later, while 34% cited the state of the world.
Singles also looked more deliberate on paper: 34% reported keeping a checklist for a long-term partner, up from 25% in 2021. Even so, 49% had fallen for someone they did not initially find attractive, and 41% would consider a second date when the first one lacked fireworks.
The details undercut the idea that romance has become a cold search query. Match reported that great conversation, shared interests and shared values were the leading reasons attraction grew, while singles chose peace and emotional safety over passion and excitement by more than two to one, 34% to 14%.
For Christians, the numbers offer encouragement without turning marriage into a consumer choice or making singleness seem incomplete. A covenant cannot be reduced to an algorithm; it grows through embodied presence, truth, sacrifice and grace — the parts of love no generated reply can practice on our behalf.
AI may help break the ice or polish a message, but discernment means keeping the tool in service to real relationships. The survey’s clearest note may be less about technology than desire: many singles still want someone who can listen, laugh, commit and show up.
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