At a time when ChatGPT is preparing to authorize explicit conversations for its 800 million weekly users, Ifop has carried out an extensive survey for Gleeden, providing an initial overview of the sexual and emotional uses of artificial intelligence in France. Carried out among a nationally representative sample of 2,600 French people, this “Gleeden Observatory of the sexual uses of AI” highlights not only the growing number of French people having romantic and erotic relationships with artificial intelligence, but also and above all the addictive nature of these platforms: the phenomenon is not without risk of emotional dependence, according to their own users… It’s true that in a context marked by an explosion in the use of AI in the daily lives of the French, they are not limiting its use to masturbatory purposes, but are integrating it into a whole range of practices – seduction strategies, management of relationships and personal vulnerabilities, sexual health… – to the point where it can take on an uncommonly large role in their intimate lives…
A – Sexual and emotional uses of AI not without a high risk of addiction or marital tension
1 – The majority of French people who have used a chatbot companion in the course of their lives (53%) admit to having already been addicted to this type of romantic interaction, with the impression of having become “addicted” being almost as strong among men (54%) as among women (49%);
2 – Erotic or pornographic conversations with an AI are also recognized as a source of addiction by over a third of people (38%) who have already experienced them, particularly by young men under 35 (52%), who are always the most in search of new masturbatory media.
3 – The rise of this type of functionality is also a source of tension and unease in terms of its impact on married life: almost half of users who have already had erotic interactions with an AI admit that they would have preferred to masturbate virtually, rather than have real sex with their partner (46%).
B – The sexual use of AI is currently a minority among the general population, but is set to soar in the years to come, given its already significant integration into the intimate lives of young people
4 – While erotic conversations with an AI (8%) or romantic interactions with a chatbot (6%) are still rare experiences among the French population as a whole, they have already taken a significant place in the intimate lives of the younger generations, particularly among men under 35, nearly one in five of whom have already experienced them (19% to 21%).
5 – It’s true that exchanges with AI of a pornographic nature are still primarily confined to a young, male audience: young men under 35 are by far the most adept at using AI for erotic/masturbatory games with sexy characters (19%) or the avatar of celebrities (19%).
6 – But this initial overview of AI’s sexual uses has the merit of showing that it’s not just a new masturbatory medium. In fact, it has already been widely integrated into the intimate lives of GenZ for other reasons, as can be seen from the significant number of young people under 30 who have already used AI for seduction purposes (39%), for relational purposes (44%) or for sex advice or sex education (39%).
7 – And in these areas, it’s sometimes young women who are at the forefront, judging by the proportion of women who use it to help them get through a period when they’re feeling down (28% of women, versus 26% of men) or to find gift ideas for their partner (33% of women, versus 32% of men).
C – Potential for growth, especially among young men
8 – Among the French as a whole, the potential for using AI for seduction purposes is already significant (40%), just as its potential is far from negligible for sex advice (35%) or relational purposes (46%). But the willingness to use artificial intelligence for sexual or emotional purposes is even greater among younger users, whether for seduction (67%), sex advice (58%) or relationship purposes (70%);
9 – On the other hand, the potential for masturbatory use remains more limited and highly gendered: one in four French AI users (25%) say they would use AI for pornographic or romantic purposes, compared with 9% of French women, although the potential for this use is particularly strong among men under 35 (31%, compared with 11% among women of the same age).
Ifop’s Nicola Gaddoni’s view: While sexual and emotional uses of AI remain in the minority, they already outline a profound transformation of intimacy through digital technology. Driven above all by young men, this spread reveals a dynamic that is both generational and gendered. But the rise of these practices is also accompanied by tensions: compulsive risks, unease about the blurring of boundaries between human and digital relationships, and concerns about the impact on relationships. Taken together, these elements paint a recomposed intimate landscape, where AI appears at once as a tool for sexual exploration, an emotional support and an object of social controversy.
TO QUOTE THIS STUDY, USE AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING WORDING:
” Ifopstudy for Gleeden carried out by online self-administered questionnaire from November 14 to 19, 2025 among a representative national sample of 2,603 people aged 18 and over.”
