Airbnb is increasingly relying on AI to speed up internal development, even as its consumer-facing AI rollout remains more measured, co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. Chesky said AI has helped reduce the time from concept to feature launch by 60%, while the number of features and improvements shipped this year rose nearly 80% compared to the same period last year. The company had previously said AI now writes 60% of its new code, with the technology aiding development in areas including search, sign-up, checkout, and payments, as well as host-facing tools like faster onboarding.
On the consumer side, Chesky said Airbnb plans to begin testing AI-powered search, adding it as an optional toggle rather than replacing existing search and filter functions. The new feature would let users type natural language queries and receive AI-generated, personalized results in a visual format, including real-time generated highlights on listing pages. Chesky has previously argued that a standard chatbot interface does not suit travel search, prompting Airbnb’s more tailored approach.
The company has also expanded its AI-powered customer support bot, launched in North America in 2025, to more than 50 languages, with voice support planned later this year. Airbnb said nearly 45% of support cases handled by the AI agent are resolved without human involvement, contributing to a 16% year-over-year drop in support costs per booking. The company reported quarterly revenue up 17% to $3.6 billion, with adjusted EBITDA rising 21% to $1.3 billion.
