Here's the story of how I accidentally ended up with a real, live beta reader:

I have this online friend who I knew but didn't talk to all that often tbh, but I knew he and I both liked romances like Jane Austen etc, even though he doesn't care for sex scenes (he says they're boring). And I started writing this novel shortly after a very hard summer in which I was taking care of my dad with dementia and cancer, and I started just sending chunks of the writing to him because I didn't really have anyone else to show them to and I figured he might appreciate them.

Then we'd start brainstorming what the characters should do, worldbuilding plot points, etc, and sometimes I'd incorporate them, sometimes I'd push back, but overall the process just became collaborative and FUN.

Then one day, tired of having to explain the backstory between disjointed chunks, I just sent him the whole file and he started reading from the beginning. Then I would send him new chapters as I wrote them, he would provide feedback that I may or may not have incorporated, and overall I think the story became a lot stronger for it.

The unfortunate thing (other than him not caring for sex scenes so I don't have anyone to show those parts to, even though they're all plot-important) is that he's been in a "hyper critical" mood where he hasn't had the urge to read fiction in months, so now I'm back to not having anyone to show the new stuff to. But that in no way means I'm going to fall for these "beta reader bot" scams who want you to PAY them so AI can spit out some garbage that has nothing to do with your actual story.