It was 11 pm the night before I was about to take my bus to Jaipur. I was packing my bag while spiralling into the usual pre-reunion anxieties a person in a long-distance relationship goes through. Will they remember me just as they saw me last time? Will there be any awkwardness? Will I have to start the whole shenanigans of putting my best version forward all over again? What to wear, what to eat, where to go, which events at the lit fest to attend, and so on.
And that’s when the text flashed on my screen.
“Here’s the itinerary for your first Jaipur trip,” my then partner had said, followed by a word document which had a detailed three-day plan. It was thoughtful, specific, and romantic. Until I noticed the telltale signs. The overly chipper tone. The suspiciously perfect pacing. The way each suggestion came with a mini essay on historical significance. And of course, the inevitable em dash.
“Did ChatGPT write this?” I asked. “Maybe,” came the sheepish reply.
Welcome to love in 2026, where our partners are outsourcing romance to large language models (LLMS), and we are not entirely sure whether to be charmed or concerned. Possibly both.