Replika lets you buy an AI girlfriend or boyfriend and its average user age is surprising [Video]

You might expect an app offering romantic interactions with AI chatbots to primarily appeal to young, single men.

But Replika CEO Eugenia Kuyda said that’s a “problem of perception.” While users as young as 18 can make an account, she told The Verge that the app serves users “mostly 35-plus” — and includes a balance of men and women.

“Even though most people think that our users are, I don’t know, 20-year-old males, they’re actually older,” Kuyda said in the interview, adding that it’s “not skewed toward teenagers or young adults.”

Replika offers AI companions in text, voice, video, or virtual reality. An annual subscription costs $69.99, and users can interact with the AI avatars as friends, therapists, or romantic partners.

Some users apparently have grown quite dependent on the app. Last year, Business Insider’s Rob Price profiled a 40-something who developed a long-term relationship with his chatbot.

Other users reported mental health crises after the app removed the ability to exchange …