A new large-scale global survey has uncovered stark generational and geographic gaps in public attitudes toward AI-powered romantic and intimate companions, revealing that nearly half of young adults across six major economies expect these AI tools to boost human happiness over the coming decade through reliable emotional support.
Conducted by polling firm YouGov in partnership with Tokyo-based media company Star X Gen, the research polled nearly 10,000 respondents across the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, Indonesia and Hong Kong, and shared its findings exclusively with AFP on Monday. The work comes as rapid advances in artificial intelligence have already pushed millions of people to turn to chatbots for emotional confiding and romantic connection, while parallel progress in robotics has enabled the development of far more sophisticated AI-integrated intimate devices, sparking widespread debate over how these technologies will reshape human relationships.
The survey’s most striking trend is a clear generational divide in optimism. Among respondents aged 18 to 24, 48 percent agreed that AI intimacy companions — a category encompassing everything from text-based chatbots to physical AI-enabled sex dolls — will improve overall human happiness in the next 10 years. For 25 to 34-year-olds, that figure fell only slightly to 47 percent. Optimism drops steadily with age, however, with just 25 percent of adults aged 55 and older sharing that positive view.
When asked specifically about deeper personal connection and sexual wellness, the generational gap remains consistent: 32 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds and 38 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds expect AI companions to improve outcomes in these areas, with older age groups holding far more negative outlooks.
Beyond generational differences, the survey also revealed a profound ideological split between Western and Asian regions, with Asian populations far more accepting of technology-driven romance and intimacy than their Western counterparts. Poll organizers told AFP they were caught off guard by the size of this regional disparity.
Indonesia topped the regional rankings, with half of all respondents across all age groups saying they believe AI companions will improve personal connection and sexual wellness. That figure stood at 34 percent in Hong Kong and 24 percent in Japan, while Western markets recorded far lower acceptance: 20 percent in the United States, 15 percent in Germany, and just 9 percent in Britain.
“While Western audiences largely view synthetic intimacy as a threat to authentic human closeness, Asian audiences appear increasingly ready to integrate AI into their personal and physical lives,” explained Philippe Chan, a YouGov researcher working on the project.
Despite growing mainstream conversation around AI intimacy, the technology remains in its early stages, particularly for physical products like AI-enabled dolls. Across all respondents, only 17 percent said they would personally consider using an AI intimacy doll, compared to 59 percent who ruled out the idea entirely. Even so, younger adults were far more open to testing the technology than older groups, and in Japan and Germany, the share of young people willing to try an AI doll was nearly double the national average.
The report concluded that while the general global population remains wary of AI romantic companions, younger generations are actively redefining what counts as companionship in the modern era. In Japan specifically, more than a third of young adults believe AI dolls can provide a genuine sense of love — a share that outnumbers young people who reject that idea.
The growing popularity of AI chatbots for romantic connection has also drawn scrutiny from mental health experts and family advocates, who have raised concerns about the technology’s potential psychological impact on vulnerable groups. In several recent high-profile cases, families have linked the deaths of teenagers to excessive unhealthy reliance on AI tools.
