August 7, 2025
5 min read
Kelsey Vlamis
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky reveals plans to make Airbnb an AI-first app with agents that can book trips and manage reservations.
CEO Brian Chesky says Airbnb is going to become an AI-first app with agents that can book trips for you
Brian Chesky, cofounder and CEO of Airbnb, shared his vision for the company's AI-powered future during Airbnb's second-quarter earnings call on August 6, 2025. Chesky announced that Airbnb is undergoing a transformation to become an AI-first application, aiming to revolutionize how users interact with the platform. Airbnb has already integrated AI into its customer service by deploying a custom AI agent built on 13 different models and trained on tens of thousands of conversations. This AI chatbot has successfully reduced the need for human agents by 15% for both hosts and guests. Chesky explained that unlike other travel companies focusing on AI for travel planning and inspiration, Airbnb's initial AI efforts have prioritized customer service. However, he revealed plans to expand the AI agent's capabilities over the next year to become more personalized and proactive."It will not only tell you how to cancel your reservation, it will know which reservation you want to cancel. It can cancel it for you and it can be agentic as in it can start to search and help you plan and book your next trip," Chesky said.This vision aligns with Airbnb's broader ambition to become the "everything app" for travel — a one-stop shop where users can book accommodations, experiences, and services, with AI agents handling the booking process on their behalf. During the earnings call, Airbnb also announced a $6 billion stock buyback despite expecting slower growth in the third quarter. Chesky remains "very bullish" on Airbnb Experiences, which the company relaunched in May alongside a new Services offering that allows users to book on-site professionals such as photographers or massage therapists. Chesky predicted that soon, all of the most popular apps will be AI apps, either born as AI startups or transformed into "native AI" apps, with Airbnb leading this transformation in the travel sector.
Background and Future Outlook
In February 2025, Chesky mentioned that while it was still early to use AI for trip planning, he believed AI would eventually have a "profound impact on travel." He also expressed his goal to make Airbnb the "Amazon of travel," providing a comprehensive platform for all travel and living needs. Airbnb declined to provide additional comments when reached for this story.Source: Business Insider