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Grindr is expanding its scope in a way that is entirely on brand. On Tuesday, the company unveiled Woodwork, a telehealth service that will help users access medication for erectile dysfunction. Currently available to Grindr users in Illinois and Pennsylvania, Woodwork will expand nationwide throughout the rest of 2025, according to the company. Grindr CEO George Arison says the company performed internal research that found more than a third of its users take erectile dysfunction drugs. “That gave us a very clear opportunity,” he tells Fast Company in an exclusive, in-depth interview on how he’s growing Grindr’s scope. “Users want it, but theyre buying these products from companies that in no way speak to who they are.” With Woodwork, Grindr is working with telehealth provider OpenLoop to connect users to clinicians who will prescribe compounded versions of common erectile dysfunction drugs tadalafil (Cialis) or sildenafil (Viagra) that dissolve in the mouth. The company said OpenLoop clinicians have received inclusive care training and Grindr offers educational materials tailored to the LGBTQ community. “Theres a set of warnings [with Woodwork prescriptions] that are actually very specific to our users,” Arison says. “I don’t think most services like this would say, Do not take this medication with poppers. We do.” Woodwork is Grindr’s first foray into telemedicine, but its part of a push from the company to add a host of featuresincluding several powered by AI, like a chatbot for improving messagesto show that it can be more of a social network for LGBTQ users. Arison has called this his effort to make the app into a “global gayborhood in your pocket.” In the past few months, Grindr has expanded its “Right Now” feature (which lets users signal to each other that they’re looking for a quick hookup) to 15 additional markets, including London, New York, Paris, and Chicago. Arison also told Fast Company he wants to add more standard dating features to the app to satisfy users who are looking for relationships. “For our users sake, we need to offer them better dating experiences and better dating features to satisfy their needs,” he says. In March, Grindr reported a 33% year-over-year increase in revenue in 2024. Its share price is up 70% over the past year. That’s as companies behind more traditional dating appsin particular Match Groupstruggle, especially among younger users. “If you dont build a product that Gen Zers want, theyre not going to use it,” Arison says. “Thats where I think some of our peers have fallen flat.”
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E-Commerce
Summoning a robotaxi from your phone is not a futuristic fantasy since Waymo achieved full commercial deployment.
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E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For years, banks have known their customer experience needs to catch up to the digital expectations set by tech and retail giants. Now, with AI dominating the boardroom agenda, the temptation is to bolt on yet another tool and call it transformation. But real progress doesnt come from piling on more toolsit comes from using AI to intelligently orchestrate smarter, more connected customer journeys. Recently, Ive spent time with several banking leaders exploring how theyre applying AI across their operations, from servicing and support to fraud detection and lending. What Ive seen confirms a pattern: The most successful organizations arent chasing hype. Theyre focused on orchestration. What AI is really solving for in banking For most consumers, banking is about trust, simplicity, and confidence. They want fast answers, frictionless support, and personalized help when it counts, whether theyre applying for a mortgage, reporting a lost card, or just resetting a password. Too often, those journeys are fragmented. Customers bounce between bots, forms, and phone calls. Agents are left trying to stitch together context. The experience is frustrating for both sides, and every one of those missed moments erodes trust. AI has the potential to fix this. But only if its used in the right way. The real opportunity isnt automation for automations sakeits intelligent orchestration. That means building systems where AI helps guide the customer from start to finish, hands off to a human when it makes sense, and ensures everyone involvedespecially the agenthas the context they need. From automation to orchestration In one conversation, a financial services team showed how they reimagined the mortgage prequalification journey. What stood out wasnt just the AIit was how the experience stayed focused, relevant, and responsive across every interaction. AI agents collected essential details, routed inquiries accurately, and passed full context to human advisors. Customers felt supported. Advisors were prepared. And the whole process moved faster. The shift was clear: not more technology, but better design. AI used not as a standalone fix, but as connective tissue across the customer journey. Its not about replacing peopleits about designing better systems Theres still a lot of fear that AI means fewer jobs. In reality, the best implementations are making people better at their jobs. Human agents become “super agents”equipped with real-time summaries, suggested responses, and full visibility into a customers journey. And this isn’t just about contact centers. Product, compliance, and CX teams are increasingly hands on in designing and refining AI-led experiencesoften without writing a single line of code. Thats a meaningful shift in how organizations move from experimentation to execution. Why connected experiences matter more than ever Consumers now expect connectedness, not just availability. In recent banking demos, AI agents were able to detect user intent more effectively than traditional natural language understanding systems, guide conversations toward specific outcomes, and seamlessly escalate when needed, all while maintaining continuity. In one example, a customer exploring refinancing options asked a mix of basic and advanced questions. The AI not only responded accurately, but also captured key qualifying details and facilitated a warm handoff to a human loan officer. The advisor didnt need to repeat questionsthe context traveled with the customer. Thats orchestration in action. From system of record to system of action Traditional systems were built to store data, not act on it. But modern platforms must be systems of action, capable of interpreting signals and responding in real time. This means using AI to go beyond logging interactions and instead drive proactive engagementsurfacing insights, anticipating needs, and guiding the next best action. Whether its a lost card or a mortgage inquiry, the most successful brands are rethinking the architecture behind the experiencenot just layering AI on top. This is a window of opportunity Retail has already started to rethink how it delivers value through AI. Banking is close behindbut with higher stakes, more regulation, and bigger complexity. That makes clarity even more important. This moment isnt about racing to launch the next chatbot. Its about reimagining how every part of the customer journey connectsand whether it delivers the kind of trust, empathy, and outcomes that consumers expect from their bank. AI is no longer a nice to have in the CX stackits becoming the connective infrastructure. But only if its applied intentionally, not reactively. The gap between brand ambitions and customer expectations is shrinking. And for banks that act now, with a focus on orchestration, that gap becomes a window of competitive advantage. The organizations that get this right wont just modernize. Theyll leadbecause customers will follow the brands that make things easier, safer, and smarter. John Sabino is CEO of LivePerson.
Category:
E-Commerce
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