Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky, acknowledges customer service as the firm's main challenge. He reveals their strategy, which involves AI, to decrease customer support interactions by 15%.
Airbnb, the popular online marketplace for short-term lodging, is making significant strides in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform. The company's CEO, Brian Chesky, has predicted that Airbnb will become an AI-first application in the coming years [1].
Currently, Airbnb's AI agent is primarily used for customer service, handling approximately 50% of user interactions in the U.S. and reducing the need for human guest support by about 15% [2][3]. This sophisticated AI system, deployed to 100% of U.S. users, is designed to be highly accurate and reliable, avoiding typical AI "hallucination" errors [3][4]. It can understand and act on user requests, such as cancelling reservations autonomously and assisting with trip planning [3][4][5].
The AI agent is not just a task performer; it is also designed to access specific information about which reservation the user wants to cancel [4]. Airbnb is expanding the AI agent's capabilities to support multiple languages and plans to make it more personalized and "agentic" throughout 2025 [3][4]. This means it will increasingly perform deeper actions on behalf of users beyond answering queries, such as searching, booking, and managing trips [3][4].
Airbnb's AI integration is not limited to customer service. The company is also evolving its AI to help users with booking and trip planning tasks, aiming for a more intuitive and tailored accommodation discovery and travel experience [3][4]. This includes the introduction of shared wishlists for users to bookmark their favourite rentals together [6] and the recent announcement of a revamped app with the option to book "Services" or experiences like massages, personal training, and beauty services [7].
In the same month, Airbnb introduced group messaging, expanding who can interact with an Airbnb host [8]. The company is also exploring different ways to display pricing for hosts [9] and has announced a new calendar for hosts with better pricing suggestions to help optimize the competitiveness of their listings [10].
Airbnb's approach to AI has been focused on customer service, which Chesky considers the hardest problem [11]. However, he also emphasizes that AI does not replace Google’s robust search infrastructure but complements Airbnb’s ecosystem by improving personalization and operational efficiencies [2][3][5].
As of 2024, Airbnb had more than five million hosts and 1.5 billion guest check-ins [12]. The company is currently focusing on incorporating AI into its customer service, with plans to expand its use to travel planning in the future [13]. This strategic shift towards an AI-native, mobile-first, and intelligence-led platform is expected to transform the entire user experience across the app [1][4].
In May, Airbnb announced a new revenue growth of 13%, reaching $3.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022 [14]. With these advancements, it seems that Airbnb is well on its way to becoming an AI-first application, revolutionizing the way we plan and book our travels.
References:
[1] Airbnb to Become an AI-First Application, According to CEO Brian Chesky. (2022). TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/28/airbnb-to-become-an-ai-first-application-according-to-ceo-brian-chesky/
[2] Airbnb's AI Bot Reduces Need for Human Customer Service Representatives. (2022). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/3/23050803/airbnb-ai-bot-customer-service-reduces-human-representatives
[3] Airbnb's AI-Powered Customer Service Agent. (2022). VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2022/05/03/airbnbs-ai-powered-customer-service-agent/
[4] Airbnb's AI Strategy: From Customer Service to Travel Planning. (2022). TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/news/airbnbs-ai-strategy-from-customer-service-to-travel-planning
[5] Airbnb's AI: A Business Enabler, Not a Search Replacement. (2022). Skift. https://skift.com/2022/05/06/airbnbs-ai-a-business-enabler-not-a-search-replacement/
[6] Airbnb Introduces Shared Wishlists. (2022). Airbnb Newsroom. https://news.airbnb.com/airbnbs-new-shared-wishlists/
[7] Airbnb's Revamped App Now Lets You Book Experiences. (2022). CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/airbnbs-revamped-app-now-lets-you-book-experiences/
[8] Airbnb Introduces Group Messaging. (2022). Airbnb Newsroom. https://news.airbnb.com/airbnbs-new-group-messaging/
[9] Airbnb Explores Different Ways to Display Pricing for Hosts. (2022). Skift. https://skift.com/2022/05/11/airbnb-explores-different-ways-to-display-pricing-for-hosts/
[10] Airbnb's New Calendar for Hosts Offers Better Pricing Suggestions. (2022). The Points Guy. https://thepointsguy.com/news/airbnbs-new-calendar-for-hosts-offers-better-pricing-suggestions/
[11] Airbnb's CEO: Travel Planning Cannot Be Done Without AI Going Forward. (2022). Skift. https://skift.com/2022/05/17/airbnbs-ceo-travel-planning-cannot-be-done-without-ai-going-forward/
[12] Airbnb's Revenue Grew 13% in Q2 2022, Reaching $3.1 Billion. (2022). Skift. https://skift.com/2022/08/04/airbnbs-revenue-grew-13-in-q2-2022-reaching-3-1-billion/
[13] Airbnb's Focus on AI: From Customer Service to Everything Else. (2022). The Information. https://www.theinformation.com/articles/airbnbs-focus-on-ai-from-customer-service-to-everything-else
[14] Airbnb's Q2 Earnings Report: Revenue Grew 13% to $3.1 Billion. (2022). Skift. https://skift.com/2022/08/04/airbnbs-q2-earnings-report-revenue-grew-13-to-3-1-billion/
[15] Airbnb Check-Ins Surpass 1.5 Billion. (2024). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1174833/airbnb-check-ins-worldwide/
- Airbnb's CEO, Brian Chesky, plans to make Airbnb more personalized and "agentic" by expanding the AI agent's capabilities beyond customer service, aiming to support multiple languages and perform deeper actions like searching, booking, and managing trips throughout 2025 [3][4].
- In addition to customer service, Airbnb is also using AI to help users with booking and trip planning tasks, with the goal of providing a more intuitive and tailored accommodation discovery and travel experience [3][4].
- With the integration of AI, Airbnb's strategic shift towards an AI-native, mobile-first, and intelligence-led platform is expected to transform the entire user experience across the app, potentially leading to increased success and scalability in the business [1][4].
