Airbnb expects the rise of AI chatbots to benefit the brand, with CEO Brian Chesky telling investors that traffic referred from chatbot platforms “converts at a higher rate” than traffic from Google.
Speaking on its Q4 earnings call overnight (12 February), Chesky said large language models (LLMs) are likely to mirror traditional search in their role at the top of the funnel.
“These chatbot platforms are going to be very similar to search. They’re going to be really good top-of-funnel discoveries,” he said.
However, Chesky cautioned that LLMs such as ChatGPT and Gemini are widely accessible, meaning “every company becomes an AI platform” once it adopts the technology.
As a result, Airbnb is investing in its own AI capabilities, embedding AI across the Airbnb experience in a way Chesky said would be “impossible to replicate”.
The company is developing what Chesky described as an “AI-native experience”, where the app goes beyond search to offer personalised support.
“The app doesn’t just search for you. It knows you,” he said, adding that AI will help guests plan trips, support hosts in running their businesses and improve operational efficiency at scale. He described this strategy as Airbnb’s “strongest defence against disintermediation”.
“A chatbot can give you a list of homes, but it can’t give you the unique points you find in Airbnb,” he said.
Its AI-powered search function, which it is in the process of building, helps users find homes, experiences and services based on factors such as quality, popularity, price and location. Chesky said the company aims to lead in conversational AI search within ecommerce.
“We would love to be the first company in ecommerce that really nails AI search, conversational search,” he said. “Airbnb, certainly within our space, is the most adaptable. We are designed to adapt, not to move like a cruise ship, but to move very nimbly.”
He also pointed to the recent appointment of CTO Ahmad Al-Dahle, formerly involved in building Meta’s Llama AI model, as central to the company’s transformation.
Chesky stressed that Airbnb does not see AI search platforms as competitors.
“We don’t need to live in a world where everyone else has to lose,” he said. “These companies will be very helpful top of funnel traffic generators for Airbnb, just like Google.”
He added that Airbnb has taken a more “intentional path” to AI than rivals. While he didn’t name competitors, Booking Holdings and Expedia Group launched AI assistants in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Chesky said Airbnb focused first on customer support, developing a custom AI agent trained on millions of support interactions. According to Chesky, the system now resolves around a third of support issues without human intervention, with faster resolution times.
“While other companies rush to build chatbots into their existing apps, we started by solving the hardest problem, customer support,” he said.
Despite the increased focus on AI, Chesky said Airbnb is not building its own models, meaning AI investment will not materially affect its P&L.
Airbnb reported fourth quarter revenue of $2.78bn, up 12% year on year and ahead of expectations of $2.72bn. Full-year revenue reached $12.2bn, a 10% increase.
CFO Ellie Mertz also highlighted Airbnb’s Olympic partnership. The company became a Worldwide Olympic Partner in 2019 and is hosting athletes at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Airbnb and the International Olympic Committee have also launched a new category of experiences hosted by Olympians, designed to provide financial support and post-competition career opportunities.
Mertz said the value of the partnership extends beyond bookings, citing increased brand awareness, additional supply in host markets and a positive “brand halo” effect.
“What we’ve seen actually for the current Olympics and the past Olympics is that guests who know of the brand partnership between Airbnb and the Olympics have a more favourable impression of the brand,” she added.