Slutbot is a chatbot that is hoping to get users more comfortable with sexting. Designed in collaboration with erotica writers and sex educators, the service is meant to offer beginners a chance to practice in a non-intimidating space with nothing at stake. It is presently available for free in the US and Canada and can be accessed from abroad at the cost of standard messaging rates. The chatbot asks for users’ age, gender, and the gender they’d like to practice with, letting them choose between a 'slow & sensual' mode and a 'hot & heavy' one.

Research suggests that over half of young smartphone users in the US sext. The size of this audience justifies services like Slutbot as entry-level tools for those who might feel anxious or inexperienced. Additionally, a survey of almost 500 American undergraduates found that sending NSFW photos and messages is normalized in most committed and healthy relationships, contradicting the assumption that sexting is linked to more casual or anxious ones. Over three-quarters of young women in the US have tried sex-related tech and immersive VR porn is on the rise. With stigmas around sex and pleasure fading, tech is finding new spaces in people’s love lives as the way couples communicate changes.

"After we got the request repeatedly over several months, it shed light on the fact that, really, what people struggle with in terms of sex and sexuality is communication," says Brianna Rader, Juicebox CEO and founder, "people often don't have the language to express their desires. They don't have the skills. And at Juicebox we believe that the best way to learn is to just do it."

Edoardo Biscossi is an analyst at Canvas8, which specialises in behavioural insights and consumer research. He has a degree in Political Sciences and a MSc in Consumer Behaviour. He’s interested in culture, media, art, the future, the niche, and the mass.