Despite a popular misconception that AI girlfriends’ popularity is caused by male loneliness, a new breakdown by online behaviour experts at Babestation suggests no strong association between these trends. A September 2026 analysis looked at 20+ countries, dissecting online trends and survey data on loneliness and gender from YouGov.
The study ranked countries by AI girlfriend searches per 100K Internet users, taking into account both English and native language queries from World Bank data. Then, that data was compared with loneliness survey responses, matching the rankings against each other. The report also looked at possible additional factors, like gender ratio, income levels, and how many men vs. women are making those queries.
Key Findings At a Glance:
- Australians are looking for AI girlfriend chatbots the most in the world, but showing some of the lowest loneliness rates at just 10%.
- What the leading countries have in common is their high incomes and widespread digital access that can be some of the key contributing factors to the trend.
- In Japan, the US, and Spain, women looking for AI ‘partners’ make up a large portion of the population that is invested in artificial relationships.
Here are the top 5 countries where residents search for AI girlfriends the most often:
| Country | Region | AI girlfriend searches per 100K internet users | AI girlfriend searches per month | Per 10,000 men aged 20 to 39 | Share that name a boyfriend | Per 100 dating app searches | Change since last year | People who feel lonely | Men per 100 women, aged 20 to 39 |
| Australia | Asia-Pacific | 70.1 | 18,320 | 48.52 | 8% | 12.7 | -11% | 10% | 101.8 |
| Sweden | Europe | 63.8 | 6,440 | 45.73 | 6% | 8.3 | -19% | 8% | 107.2 |
| Canada | Americas | 63.7 | 24,810 | 42.88 | 8% | 11.5 | -25% | 15% | 104.9 |
| Ireland | Europe | 62.7 | 3,290 | 48.77 | 8% | 6.7 | -40% | 13% | 99.9 |
| Netherlands | Europe | 58.1 | 10,140 | 42.00 | 5% | 9.0 | -13% | 8% | 102.6 |
You can find the full data breakdown by following this link.
Where Are People Searching for AI Girlfriends The Most?
Australia, Sweden, and Canada make up the top 3 countries where residents are the most interested in chatbots that act like girlfriends and boyfriends. Australia looks for these AI bots 1.5 times more often than the average country in the study and 10 times more often than the bottom-ranking India.
“Even the top ranking makes it clear that AI relationships are popular all over the world and may not be connected by loneliness or common life outlooks,” comments a digital relationship expert from Babestation. “For Us, these numbers are much lower. Around 10% used AI for general emotional support, and only 4% tried to replace social interactions with them.”
Will AI Partners Replace Real Relationships?
While the interest in AI girlfriends and boyfriends is still high, the comparison between 2025 and 2026 shows that the boom has already peaked. The numbers are declining across all countries: Canada lost 25%, Ireland lost 40% of last year’s interest, and only in Spain is the trend going up.
“On a behaviour level, AI partners are no different than adult videos, custom virtual experiences like OnlyFans users are offered, or video games,” the expert shares. “The largest difference is the size of the market, the customization, and how other entertainment options will compete for the attention.”
Is It a Product Of a Male Loneliness Epidemic?
The direct link between AI girlfriend trends and loneliness doesn’t seem to add up: all countries in the top 10 don’t have more than 15% of residents feeling lonely. For most countries there, this figure is much lower, and Sweden (2nd), the Netherlands (5th), and Denmark(10th) have the least loneliness issues in Europe.
“The gender aspect is a second part of this question,” an expert adds. “The data here and in other research suggest that there is an influence of gender in this. Some countries do have a larger share of women looking for AI romance, like in Japan, where they make up a substantial 30%. In most countries, the ratio is more skewed towards men, and US data shows that 31% of US adults have chatted with such a bot at least once.”