Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shared notable insights on artificial intelligence during the company’s second-quarter earnings call with investors.
Chesky said AI-powered chatbots have the potential to attract new customers in the travel and hospitality sectors, but they are not yet at a level to replace Google.
“AI is still in the exploration phase,” Chesky noted, adding that it’s not accurate—at least for now—to think of AI agents as “the new Google.” He emphasized that the key to differentiation in AI is not only having a strong model, but also customizing it with the right context and interface.
Earlier this year, Airbnb launched its AI-based customer service assistant in the United States. Trained on tens of thousands of real conversations and built on the combination of 13 different models, the system has reduced the need for human support by 15%.
“These systems cannot afford to make mistakes,” Chesky stressed. “Hallucinations—fabricating information—are unacceptable in our field. AI could be an interesting customer acquisition channel for us. The goal is to make Airbnb the first choice when people start planning their trips.”
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