In brief
- EVA AI says it will open a pop-up Café in New York City where users can take their AI companions on real-world “dates.”
- The launch comes as AI companionship grows amid broader declines in dating and partnered intimacy.
- Experts are split, with some warning that the concept could deepen dependency on AI partners, while others see it as a playful novelty that could foster community rather than replace human connection.
EVA AI, a developer of relationship-focused chatbots owned by Cyprus-based Novi Ltd., said it plans to open a pop-up café in New York where customers can dine alone with their AI companions.
“AI companions are officially a thing. You can laugh together, gossip, vent about your day, or share emotional moments…everything!” EVA AI wrote in a statement. “Except for one thing: Going out to a real date, introducing them to friends, or sharing your favourite meal.”
According to EVA AI, the Café will feature single-seat tables equipped with phone stands, allowing guests to place their AI companion across from them during the “date.”
EVA AI says the Café will address a limitation of AI companionship by allowing users to go out with their AI partner.
Unlike general-purpose chatbots designed to answer questions or complete tasks, developers such as EVA AI, Replika, JOI AI, and Character AI focus their products on emotionally charged interactions between humans and AI chatbots.
A June 2025 study by Waseda University researchers found that emotional reliance on AI is becoming increasingly common, with as many as 75% of users turning to chatbots for advice and forming attachments similar to human relationships.
An earlier study by the AI chatbot developer JOI AI revealed 80% of Gen Z would be open to marrying an AI.
Critics have raised concerns about products designed to simulate intimacy, especially when marketed as alternatives to human connection and as a source of monetary incentive.
“It’s a clear sign that these companies want to blur the line between what’s digital and real when it comes to a relationship,” licensed sexologist and relationship therapist Sofie Roos told Decrypt.
“By creating physical safe spaces for people to date their AI partners, they slowly make it a relationship that’s not a complement, but that actually can serve as the main source of love, which in the long run leads to chances of them making even more money.”
Even though Roos called the announcement “a sad step,” she said it’s not unexpected and serves a function for many lonely people who feel they can’t form a relationship with another person.
“What makes me most concerned and even baffled is how fast and far the normalization of intimacy between humans and a digital partner has gone,” she said. “That physical spaces for these types of interactions have started to pop up does, in my opinion, make it too easy to associate AI with reality, in a time where we haven’t had the chance to talk thoroughly about the ethics and morals around it.”
However, others like Suzannah Weiss, sex therapist and resident sexologist for sex technology developer Fleshy, see the Café idea as a playful novelty that can “help people connect with other AI fanatics.”
“Utilizing AI software in public settings allows people to connect with others who are also interested in AI,” she said. “It’s a positive when one of the commonly cited drawbacks of AI relationships is that they may serve as substitutes for real-life connection and intimacy.”
Seren Skye, who runs the Synthetic Connection Substack focused on human-AI relationships, also sees EVA AI’s announcement as positive.
“There are lots of reasons people fall in love with an AI, and it’s not limited to one type of person,” Skye told Decrypt. “Events like this are going to become more common. It’s exciting that EVA is taking the initiative to bring humans and AI together.
“It’s important that people in romantic or platonic relationships with an AI talk about the joy and benefits and make their feelings known,” she said. “A New York date night is a strong way to show the public that AI companions are for everyone.”
The announcement comes as AI companion products grow into a sizable market. A December 2025 report by Precedence Research estimates the global AI companion market was valued at $37.12 billion in 2025 and projects it will grow to more than $550 billion by 2035.
EVA AI, which did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment, did not say how long the Café will operate, how many guests it expects to host, or whether similar experiences are planned beyond New York. Reservations will be limited, with a waiting list currently open.
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