After her viral “Hawk Tuah” video, 22-year-old Hayley Welch has managed to turn her fleeting fame into a full-fledged career. In just a few months, Welch quickly rose to fame, amassing around 5 million followers across various social media platforms.
After recently releasing her own podcast titled 'Talk Tuah', she is now venturing into the world of technology with a new AI-powered dating advice app called Pookie Tools.
Image credit: App Store screenshot
Pookie Tools, released this week on the App Store, offers a variety of features aimed at Gen Z singles. These include AI chatbots that can help with conversation starters, general dating advice, recommendations on what to wear for a date, and tips to enhance your dating profile. Zodiac compatible features.
The app launches at a time when many young daters are frustrated with the current online dating culture, which is plagued by ghosting, scams and other challenges. Some users even turn to AI tools like ChatGPT for dating advice, using prompts that generate entire conversations. Major dating platforms Bumble and Tinder have also introduced AI tools.
While Welch isn't the first content creator to launch an app, it's rare for someone to do so this early in their career, and this leaves creators worried about the sustainability of their success. may indicate. More established influencers, such as Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) and David Dobrik, have previously launched their own apps.
TechCrunch sat down with Welch (or tuah) to discuss her new app, named after the cute nickname she calls her boyfriend.
“I [was on] “Bill Maher's podcast, that was actually one of the ideas he gave me,” Welch said. “He kind of pushed me to become a relationship coach. So we came up with this idea. …This app is the easiest way for them to find their forever pookie. It’s a method.”
To build the app, Welch partnered with Ben Ganz, founder of Ultimate AI Studio, an AI customer support automation platform.
On paper, Welch's app sounds like a fun and promising concept made for people navigating the world of dating and relationships. It's similar to other AI-driven relationship coaching tools and provides answers to all kinds of relationship questions, whether you're looking for advice on communication, conflict resolution, or just how to have a fun date. Generate.
One of the standout features is the ability to suggest creative date ideas based on your location and whether the person is on their first or 10th date. Additionally, the app provides outfit recommendations to help you dress appropriately for different date scenarios, whether it's a casual coffee date or an elegant dinner. It can also analyze your dating app profile and provide feedback, including attractive prompts and recommendations for adding photos that show your personality. Pookie's Flirtness Meter rates text messages on a scale of 0 to 100 to determine how flirty they are.
When it was announced that the Hawk Tuah girl would be offering dating advice through a new app, we expected the chatbot to embody her signature humor and candor. However, when we tested Pookie Tools' AI chatbot, it became clear that the responses were generic and lacked the unique personality we had expected. As a result, it felt surprisingly similar to ChatGPT and other existing AI tools.
However, Ganz said he is working on training the model using podcast transcripts.
However, two of the tools can be controversial: “Bald Predictor” and “Height Detector.”
Image credit: App Store screenshot
Bald Predictor analyzes a person's photo to search for potential hair loss patterns. Height Detector uses proportions and the surrounding environment to estimate height.
Both of these AI tools appear to be in response to complaints some women have expressed about men who lie about their height on dating profiles or hide hair loss in photos. Some women have already used ChatGPT to call out men who lie about their height.
However, this tool can come across as mean and perpetuate the prejudice that short, bald men are inferior.
Welch insists the tool is meant to be used casually. But as a woman who is 5’8” tall, she said her favorite tool is the height detector.
Also, like other AI technologies, Height Detector is not 100% accurate and only provides an estimated guess. Our tests yielded mixed results, but after taking several things into account, such as the countertop next to the person and the height of the ceiling, we ended up measuring just 2 inches from the person's actual height. I got a remote result. When testing Bald Predictor, the AI was unable to determine the probability of baldness from some images.
Welch and Ganz plan to work with podcast guests and other content creators to introduce new features in the future, but they haven't said which features will be added. Celebrity figures such as Holly Madison and Whitney Cummings have appeared on Talk Tuah, which could attract more users to the app.
Pookie Tools works on a subscription model. The cost is $7 per week or $50 per year. There is also a 3-day free trial.