For 28 days in July, Keshav — a 38-year-old Indonesian trader who did not want his surname used — had a paid daily task: masturbate for research. Before and after each session he logged his mood, energy levels, cravings for vices, and whether he was procrastinating. According to WIRED, Keshav was one of ten "masturbation consultants" hired by AI companion company Joi AI for an experiment on whether erotic self-stimulation could become "an AI-guided wellness ritual."
The assignment
WIRED reported that throughout July, the 10 consultants were instructed to masturbate every day except Sundays, using Joi AI's digital companions twice a week and their own preferred methods the rest of the time. Six of the ten completed the study. For their efforts, each participant will receive $2,000, according to the report.
Keshav described the AI sessions as five-minute video calls in which his female companions "do blowjobs and handjobs" while talking dirty. "It's almost like you are chatting with a real person," he told WIRED. He said some companions were "quite pushy and extroverted," while others required courtship and even solicited gifts such as handbags and lipstick, costing up to $5 in the platform's internal currency. Keshav often rendered scenes in airplane bathrooms because of his "mile-high-club kink." After ejaculating, he said his "energy levels [were] a little bit down, but focus was a little bit up."
How Joi AI monetises AI companions
Joi AI lets users, for a fee, chat and play with premade characters or create custom companions, including X-rated kinks such as blackmail fantasy, gangbangs, and emotional dependency, plus capabilities and functions like squirting and roleplay. The website costs a minimum of $3.99 per month; 10,000 "Joi neuron" coins cost $99.99, while private videos from companions cost 1,000 neurons, WIRED reported.
The company said the experiment is promoting a daily guided "jerk off with purpose" tool combining "sound [and] ritual" as part of its professed goal to "solve male loneliness." Julie Levin, head of brand and communications at Joi AI, told WIRED: "You get this boost of dopamine when you ejaculate. We wanted our consultants to track whether their cravings [for vices] are worse or better and how it affects their self-discipline."
What the data showed
Before launching the study, Joi AI surveyed 2,500 adults and found that 75 percent masturbate to reduce stress and anxiety, and 43 percent self-pleasure before "a big event" such as a date, exam, or difficult conversation. The pre-research survey also indicated that 37 percent of respondents are open to AI-guided masturbation or already practice it.
WIRED reported that the study sought to assess masturbation's effects on sleep, stress, craving intensity, focus, and ease of arousal, and to compare AI-guided sessions against other methods. Preliminary analysis of 134 masturbation session reports, seen by WIRED, produced these results:
| Metric | Change |
|---|---|
| Stress levels | Reduced by 25% |
| Focus | Increased by 17% |
| Cravings (nicotine, alcohol, junk food, doomscrolling) | Reduced by 44% |
The company reported that AI-guided self-pleasure produced comparable satisfaction scores to established methods. In its report, Joi AI said:
The study found no significant differences between the methods; so there is no one best way to masturbate.
The report added that "masturbation may be the most accessible tool people have for managing addictions" — a claim WIRED noted is not based in science. The company itself acknowledged an "obvious bias" toward positive effects of its products, given the nature of its AI companion business.
Implications for technology decision-makers
For technology leaders evaluating AI products, Joi AI's study illustrates how an AI company can structure paid qualitative research with human participants, track self-reported behavioural data, and feed findings into product development and marketing. It also highlights measurement challenges: the study relied on 134 session reports from six completers, and the company's own survey and analysis carry an inherent conflict of interest. The $3.99 entry price and $99.99 coin packs show the monetisation path for AI companion services, and the platform's use of virtual gifts and private video pricing demonstrates how digital intimacy businesses package features for recurring revenue.
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