Key takeaways
- Stoke-on-Trent tops the AI Girlfriend Index with a perfect 10, the highest interest per capita in the UK.
- Glasgow leads for choosing AI over human connection: 92.9% of its relevant searches are for AI, not real-world meetups.
- Adoption is highest in mid-sized cities, not the big economic or tech hubs, London sits 25th of 35 per capita.
- UK interest in AI girlfriend terms has grown every year since 2023, from an index of 13 to 87 in 2026.
AI companion apps are seeing rapid growth across the UK, but interest levels vary widely by location. We analysed search data across 35 major UK towns and cities to reveal where the AI romance trend is growing the fastest, and where people are holding out for real connection.
Key findings
Stoke-on-Trent tops the AI Girlfriend Index with a score of 10, the highest interest per capita of any UK city. It outperforms cities many times its size, including London (25th), Manchester (23rd) and Birmingham (28th), suggesting adoption has little to do with size or economic status.
London ranks just 25th of 35 per capita, despite the highest raw search volume by far. With a Google-reachable audience of 44.6 million, even strong absolute numbers dilute per capita, showing how misleading raw volume is without normalising for population.
In a separate analysis, 92.9% of Glasgow’s relevant searches are for AI rather than meetups, singles events or social clubs. Edinburgh (91.4%) and Cambridge (91.2%) follow, making Scotland and university cities the clearest adopters of AI over human companionship.
Doncaster bucks the trend hardest, with 66.7% of its companion searches for real human connection rather than AI. Wells (62.5%) and Kingston upon Hull (60%) follow, smaller northern and rural cities are holding out longest.
Google Trends shows UK interest in AI girlfriend terms rising consistently year on year, from an average index of 13 in 2023 to 87 so far in 2026. The term barely registered before 2023, and 2026 is tracking as the biggest year on record.
Birmingham (28th), Cardiff (31st), Edinburgh (34th) and Exeter (35th) all rank in the bottom 10. Adoption per capita is consistently highest in mid-sized cities, not the UK’s largest economic or tech hubs.
City leaderboard
The full AI Girlfriend Index: all 35 UK cities ranked by interest per capita (Q1 2026). Adoption index out of 10; monthly searches for AI girlfriend-related terms.
AI vs human connection
A second analysis across 73 UK cities compared searches for AI companion terms against real human connection terms, five terms each side, so neither category has a structural advantage.
Most AI-dependent cities
AI companion terms measured: Replika, virtual girlfriend, virtual boyfriend, AI chat, AI friend. Source: Google Keyword Planner, Q1 2026.
Most human cities
Human connection terms measured: speed dating near me, singles events near me, social clubs near me, meet people near me, meetup near me.
Methodology
What data did we use?
We compared how often people search for AI girlfriend-related terms against the size of the local population. The ranking: total Q1 2026 search volume (Jan–Mar) for AI girlfriend keywords ÷ population = interest per capita (IPC). The highest IPC (Stoke-on-Trent) is scored 10; all others are (city IPC ÷ max IPC) × 10.
Data sources
- Google Keyword Planner, Q1 2026 (Jan–Mar average)
- Population figures reflect Google Ads-reachable audiences
- Primary dataset: 35 cities; the AI-vs-human split covers 73 cities
A note on population data
Population figures represent Google Ads-reachable audiences, not census residents. Rankings compare relative interest between cities, not absolute adoption.
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About the author
Will Tombs
Founder, Buried
Will Tombs is the Founder of Buried. He’s an award-winning growth marketing specialist and expert in SEO and GEO, with over 12 years’ experience, leading digital strategy for startups that were acquired, international enterprise retailers, and his own e-commerce businesses.