Airbnb is finally ready to bring more powerful AI tools into its app, and the company believes these upgrades could change how travelers search, plan, and book stays, while also giving hosts smarter ways to manage their properties.
During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO Brian Chesky said Airbnb is preparing to build a more “AI-native” experience using large language models. The goal isn’t just to improve search results—it’s to make the app feel more personal and helpful throughout the entire travel journey. In other words, Airbnb wants its app to understand what you’re looking for, help you plan the details of your trip, and make the overall experience smoother for both guests and hosts.
Chesky explained that Airbnb plans to expand its use of large language models across customer discovery, customer support, and even engineering. He described a future where the app doesn’t simply respond to filters and keywords, but becomes more conversational and tailored—helping guests organize an entire trip and helping hosts run their businesses more efficiently, while Airbnb itself operates better at scale.
One of the biggest changes on the way is an AI-powered search feature that’s already being tested. Airbnb said it’s experimenting with a new option that lets users ask questions and search for listings using natural language. Instead of typing rigid search terms, travelers could ask the app the way they’d ask a person—like looking for a quiet cabin near hiking trails, a family-friendly place close to attractions, or a neighborhood that best fits a specific travel style.
Airbnb noted that this AI search experience is expected to grow into something broader and more intuitive, extending beyond the initial booking stage and continuing through the trip itself. Right now, it’s only live for a very small percentage of users as the company runs experiments and refines how the feature works.
Naturally, that raises questions about monetization—especially whether paid placements or sponsored listings might eventually appear inside AI-driven results. When asked about this, Chesky said the company is focused first on getting the design and user experience right. He added that sponsored listings could be considered later once Airbnb figures out how to integrate advertising in a way that fits smoothly into a conversational search flow.
Airbnb also plans to lean on the experience of its new chief technology officer, Ahmad Al-Dahle, to push these AI efforts further. Chesky suggested that Airbnb’s massive collection of identity signals and review data could help power features that make trip planning and hosting more useful and personalized over time.
Customer service is another area where Airbnb is already using large language models—and seeing measurable impact. The company said its AI-powered support bot, which launched in North America last year, now resolves about one-third of customer issues without needing a human agent. Chesky also shared plans to expand that capability significantly, including offering voice-based AI support so customers can call in for help, not just chat. The company also intends to increase language coverage so more users worldwide can access AI assistance.
Chesky said the target is that, within a year, far more than 30% of support issues could be handled through AI, across many more languages. He emphasized that AI customer service won’t be limited to text chat going forward—it’s expected to include voice support as well.
Beyond customer-facing features, Airbnb is also working on broader internal adoption of AI tools. The company reported that around 80% of its engineers already use AI in their work, and Airbnb wants to push that to 100%, signaling a major company-wide shift toward AI-assisted productivity.
All of this rollout comes as Airbnb posted strong financial results. The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $2.78 billion, beating expectations and rising 12% compared to the same period a year earlier.
With AI-powered search, trip planning, improved host tools, and expanding customer support automation, Airbnb is positioning itself to compete in an era where travelers increasingly expect faster answers, more personalized recommendations, and a smoother booking experience from start to finish.
