Nearly one in six Brits have already had a romantic, flirty or X-rated conversation with a chatbot.
Most of them would still rather be talking to a human.
A survey of 1,000 UK adults found 15.5% have used AI for flirtatious, intimate or adult chat.
More than a quarter (27.5%) would consider an AI companion or virtual partner in future, and almost one in five (18.5%) would pay for one if it felt realistic and private.
Babestation, one of the world’s biggest webcam platforms, commissioned the research, as reported by Creatorzine.
Which makes the next part less of a shock.
AI is in the chat, but humans are still winning
Asked whether they’d prefer a real person or AI for romantic, flirtatious or adult online interaction, 80.8% picked a person.
Just 5% chose the machine.
On authenticity, it wasn’t close. Almost two-thirds (63.8%) said a real performer or creator feels more authentic than an AI companion. Only 3.8% sided with the AI.
“An AI companion can be designed to tell you what you want to hear,” a Babestation spokesperson said.
“A real person isn’t predictable, and that’s part of the attraction.”
The platform insists it isn’t picking a fight with the technology.
“We aren’t anti-AI, we know this technology appeals to many people,” the spokesperson said.
“And with more than one in four saying they would consider an AI companion in future, this clearly isn’t going away.”
Lonely, curious and a bit worried
Brits seem to hold two opinions at once. Almost two-thirds (65.6%) think AI companions could help people feel less lonely.
Yet 78.9% worry they could leave people more disconnected from real relationships.
Nearly half (49%) named loneliness as the main reason someone might turn to an AI partner.
“People can see how AI might provide comfort to somebody who feels lonely, but at the same time they are worried about what happens if simulated relationships begin replacing genuine ones,” the spokesperson said.
They added that people want “companionship and conversations they may not feel comfortable having elsewhere.”
‘You can’t programme genuine chemistry’
Babestation model Beth Bennett says a surprising amount of her job involves talking.
“People might think every man who comes to see me just wants to get turned on, but sometimes we spend ages talking,” she said.
“They tell me about their jobs, their relationships, what they’ve been doing that day and things they might not feel comfortable telling other people.
“Of course there’s flirting and it can get naughty, but the conversation is a huge part of it.”
Her pitch against the bots is simple. “If they make me laugh, I laugh. If they’re cheeky, I’ll be cheeky back.
If they say something ridiculous, I’ll tell them.
“You can’t programme genuine chemistry.”
Why It Matters
For adult creators, AI isn’t a distant threat.
It’s a cheaper rival that never logs off. These figures suggest their edge lies less in the content and more in the person behind it, the laughing, the disagreeing, the occasional “that’s ridiculous.”
Creators who sell personality look safer than those who sell a script.
Where this is heading
AI companion apps have multiplied in recent years, and creators whose income depends on conversation are watching closely.
The spokesperson’s bigger question is what people will keep valuing as AI companionship gets more realistic.
For now, the answer is a human who laughs because they actually found you funny.
Almost one in five, though, are already willing to pay for the version that gets close enough.
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