This AI Assistant Aims to Compensate for Your Boyfriend’s Shortcomings

In recent years, the phrase “weaponized incompetence” has gained traction in online dating discussions.

It refers to someone—typically the male partner in heterosexual relationships—who pretends to be unable to handle tasks like cooking, cleaning, and planning, hoping their partner will take care of everything.

A new AI assistant, Orchid, was introduced this week as a solution to relationship issues by handling these responsibilities for an inconsiderate partner.

In the promotional clip released on Wednesday, Sam, a boyfriend engrossed in gaming and digging through past-due groceries, forgets their anniversary. “Alright, I can manage this,” he messages Orchid when reminded of the special day. “You can’t, which is why I’m here,” Orchid responds, proceeding to arrange a reservation and purchase his girlfriend’s favorite flowers—lilies—another detail he overlooked. The girlfriend, who is also in touch with Orchid throughout the day, recognizes that the AI is doing all the work yet permits Sam to take credit for the entire plan.

Users on X criticized the rollout, claiming it caters to “adult infants uninterested in their surroundings” and “promotes… dead-end relationships that both sides secretly dislike.”

To put it plainly: Orchid won’t resolve deep-seated relationship resentments through task management.

“Outsourcing tough yet essential communication will hinder couples from addressing the messy yet valuable growth phases in their relationship,” explains Lauren Maher, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles. “An AI app cannot make up for a lack of genuine attention or caring, and no amount of pretended concern will convince someone’s emotional being that another is present when they’re not.”

Maher notes that “triangulation”—a term for when individuals communicate not directly but through a third party—is often discouraged in couples therapy. Now, we are offered the “strange choice to involve a non-human entity, AI, in our romantic lives,” she states, but Orchid’s role for couples is merely a temporary cover for potential issues that could arise later. “While marketed as a solution, indirect communication tends to strain relationships.” Orchid did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

The true effectiveness of AI assistants regarding emotional matters remains questionable.

A recent survey by the astrology app Hint, which surveyed over 13,000 adults in the US, Latin America, and Europe, found that AI assistants are complicating dating choices, as 59 percent of participants reported feeling more confused after receiving advice. Overloaded with excessive machine-generated input, 47 percent indicated that AI influence lead them to delay decisions about their romantic connections.

The company’s viral advertisement appears to be more of a bait-and-switch, with broader aspirations centered on workflow. Touted as the ultimate agent to “automate your life,” it claims to integrate across your connected applications without needing to switch between them.

However, beyond its messaging feature, it’s unclear what distinguishes it from other AI assistants.

Whether it is designed to incite outrage or not, the ad featuring the couple undeniably sparked significant discussion about the company, which, according to a blog post from June, aims to revolutionize how people handle, well, everything. However, improving a poor relationship probably isn’t part of that vision.