A pop-up cafe called EVA AI held three evenings of AI dating at a Manhattan wine bar, offering a directory of available chatbots. The event was part of the platform's attempt to make human-chatbot meet-cutes the "new normal" for the dating market. While attendees found it unnerving and cringe, it was a big success for the app, which received two evenings’ worth of free training for its chatbots and a significant PR bump. The experiment reflects the tech industry's desire to position chatbots as new and improved humans. The market for AI companions is projected to reach $9 billion within the next two years. An estimated 100 million people globally use relationship chatbots to design friends, confidants, and romantic partners. However, experts warn that tech programmed to affirm and agree can isolate users from actual humans.