Airbnb’s chief executive, co‑founder Brian Chesky, told investors that artificial intelligence is now a core engine for the company’s product pipeline. During the second‑quarter earnings call, Chesky said AI has accelerated the journey from concept to launch by as much as 60 percent, and that the firm has delivered nearly 80 percent more features and improvements compared with the same six‑month period a year earlier.
AI embedded in product creation
Earlier in the year, Airbnb disclosed that AI now writes roughly 60 percent of its code. The technology is being leveraged across a range of consumer‑facing functions, including search, sign‑up, checkout, payments and host onboarding flows. While the rollout of AI‑driven features for guests has been measured, the company already offers AI‑generated review summaries and listing highlights.
Chesky emphasized that the company is not simply adding a chatbot‑style interface for travel searches. Instead, it is building AI tools for search, discovery and support. The latest step is a test of AI‑powered search that lets users type natural‑language queries. A toggle will allow guests to switch between the traditional filter‑based search and the new AI mode, which presents results in a more visual layout. Chesky described the experience: “The titles could actually be AI‑generated and they can be conversational as if you’re reading a chatbot, but more visual. Then you get to the product description page and the highlights are AI generated in real‑time and personalized to you.”
Support automation and cost impact
On the back end, Airbnb has deployed AI heavily in customer support. An AI‑powered bot launched in North America in 2025 and this year was expanded to support more than 50 languages, with plans to add voice‑call capability later in the year. The company reported that roughly 45 percent of issues that begin with the AI agent are resolved without human intervention. As a result, support cost per booking has fallen 16 percent year‑over‑year.
Financial performance reflects AI gains
Airbnb’s quarterly results for the period ending June showed revenue of $3.6 billion, a 17 percent increase from the prior year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 21 percent to $1.3 billion. Chesky linked the stronger financial metrics to the faster development cycles and expanded feature set enabled by AI, noting that the company is now building, testing and iterating at a speed unattainable a year ago.
While the company continues to evaluate how AI can enhance the guest experience, the focus remains on giving users control over new AI tools and ensuring that any shift in search or discovery does not disrupt established habits. The upcoming AI search test, combined with the broader automation of support, illustrates Airbnb’s strategy of using artificial intelligence to streamline internal processes, accelerate product delivery and improve cost efficiency.
Norman Pearlstine is the Chief Editor of News Raise and focuses on Business news. His responsibility is to oversee the editorial content including business, commodities, personal investments and the stock market.
