Airbnb stock shot up over 15% Friday after it notched one of its strongest growth quarters in years, with CEO Brian Chesky crediting AI – after fearing the tech could spell trouble for tech companies like his.
He told CNBC that he’d spend “a lot more” on AI in 2026, raising Airbnb’s full-year outlook.
“I have so underestimated the impact of AI,” the exec said, adding that the eye-watering cost of implementing AI “pales in comparison” to the revenue and productivity Airbnb has been getting in return.
AI is helping Airbnb attract more bookings, streamlining hosts’ ability to list and price homes, and is lowering customer-service costs, Chesky explained.
Airbnb’s second-quarter results Thursday beat analysts’ estimates, including revenue that jumped 17% from $3.1 billion a year earlier and net income that increased to $816 million from $642 million, or $1.03 per share, a year ago.
Chesky’s company — which hired Meta’s former head of generative AI Ahmad Al-Dahle as its chief technology officer in January — said it is testing AI-powered search functions, AI-generated listing suggestions and answers for guests. The tech is helping hosts create and price listings, too.
Chesky said that 45% of guests who interact with Airbnb’s AI customer service agent never need to speak with a human.
Airbnb has been aiming to boost revenue after New York City — one of its most significant markets — cracked down on the hosting platform. In April, The Post reported that over the prior 11 months, 605 registered hosts were sent warning letters from NYC’s Office of Special Enforcement about their illegal listings.
In March, OSE conducted a review of approved listings and found that 27% of the them are considered illegal, the agency said.
Chesky said he is bullish on open-source models for consumer-facing products, though he declined to name which of the models Airbnb is using, citing competition concerns.
He said Airbnb is using pricey frontier models – parlance for the most powerful AI systems – for some undertakings, but for most consumer-facing tasks, lesser-powerful models are doing just fine.
“We are going to spend a lot more on AI tokens this year than we forecasted,” Chesky said, referencing the units by which AI use is measured. “But that’s great because the ROI is there, and therefore our revenue is much higher.”
The exec credited Al-Dahle with Airbnb’s AI makeover, saying the company had been “maybe middle of the pack in AI” before he arrived. Since the former Meta AI guru joined, Chesky said Airbnb has seen more demand and supply and cheaper customer service.