A new AI agent called Orchid drew widespread criticism this week for marketing itself as a solution to relationship problems caused by inconsiderate partners, according to a report published Wednesday by Wired. The promotional video featured a boyfriend who forgot his anniversary while gaming, relying on the AI to book reservations and order flowers—tasks his girlfriend knew were handled by the assistant, yet still allowed him to claim credit for. The company's pitch targets a phenomenon known as "weaponized incompetence," where partners act incapable of basic tasks like cooking, cleaning, or being thoughtful in hopes someone else will do the work.
Users on X blasted the rollout, accusing it of catering to "adult babies uninterested in the world they live in" and perpetuating failing relationships. Meanwhile, a recent survey from astrology app Hint that polled over 13,000 adults across the US, Latin America, and Europe found that AI assistants are making dating decisions harder rather than easier. Fifty-nine percent of participants reported the advice left them more confused than before, while 47 percent said AI input led them to postpone decisions about their romantic relationships.
Lauren Maher, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles, told Wired that "an AI app will never be able to compensate for a lack of attention or genuine caring." She explained that "triangulation"—when individuals communicate through a third party rather than directly—is regularly discouraged in couples therapy, and introducing AI into romantic relationships as a middleman only masks deeper issues. The report notes that Orchid's use case for couples serves as a temporary cover for problems likely to resurface later, since indirect communication is known to strain relationships.
The viral advertisement appears to be more attention-grabbing stunt than genuine product focus. According to a blog post from June, Orchid's actual ambitions center on workflow automation, positioning itself as an agent to "automate your life" by working across connected apps without requiring users to switch between them. Beyond its texting feature, however, it's unclear what distinguishes Orchid from other AI agents on the market. Whether the ad was intentional rage-bait or not, it succeeded in generating substantial buzz for a company that wants to reshape how people manage daily tasks—though fixing dysfunctional relationships probably isn't among them.