Airbnb CEO: Don’t mistake AI agents for the ‘New Google’ just yet

CEO and cofounder of Airbnb, Brian Chesky

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky isn’t buying the hype that AI agents will replace Google anytime soon. Speaking on the company’s Q2 earnings call, Chesky urged caution about overestimating AI chatbots’ role in discovery. “I don’t think we should think of chatbots like Google, I don’t think we should think of them as the ‘new Google’ yet,” he told investors.

His point: current AI tools aren’t exclusive or differentiated enough to threaten Google’s grip on referral traffic, at least not now. “The model powering ChatGPT isn’t proprietary. We can also use the API, and there are others we can tap into.”

Chesky believes the real competitive edge won’t come from just plugging into a model, but from building tailored interfaces on top of them. “It’s not enough to have the best model. You have to tune it and apply it to the right use case.”

Airbnb is doing just that. Its AI-powered customer service agent, trained on tens of thousands of conversations and built with 13 different models, is already handling support requests in the US and doing it well enough to reduce human interactions by 15%.

That’s harder than it sounds. Unlike planning tools, customer support bots can’t afford to hallucinate. Accuracy isn’t optional.

The AI agent will roll out in more languages this year. In 2025, it’ll get more personalized — and more capable. Instead of telling users how to cancel a reservation, it will just do it. Eventually, it will plan and book trips, too. Chesky also confirmed that AI will power Airbnb’s search next year.

As for integrating third-party AI agents,  like ChatGPT or others, it’s still on the table, but with limits. “You still need an Airbnb account to book,” he said. That friction keeps Airbnb from becoming just another backend for AI agents or a commodity like flight booking.

For now, Chesky sees agentic AI more as a new lead-gen channel than a threat to Airbnb’s brand.

“I think the key is to become the first place people book travel on Airbnb,” he said. “Whether we integrate with AI agents we’re open to it.”

Airbnb beat Q2 expectations with $3.1 billion in revenue and $1.03 EPS. But a softer growth forecast for the second half sent the stock lower.