Airbnb: 50% of Users Turn to AI Bot for Customer Service

Airbnb has rolled out an artificial intelligence (AI) bot for customer service in the U.S.

CEO Brian Chesky addressed the use of this tool during the company’s recent first-quarter earnings call, TechCrunch reported Friday (May 2), saying that 50% of customers were already turning to the bot for customer service.

“One thing I’ll say about AI … it is definitely making the customer experience easier. … It has already led to a 15% reduction in people needing to contact live human agents,” he said, adding that the company plans to offer the feature to all U.S. users this month.

Speaking at the Human[x] conference in Las Vegas in March, Airbnb chief business officer Dave Stephenson said the company plans to embed AI throughout its operations to transform guest and homeowner experiences, offering a “concierge in your pocket.”

AI is an “incredibly high priority,” Stephenson said, adding that top management recently met to discuss the “critical importance of AI” and its role in the lodging giant’s long-term vision. “It pervades everything we do.”

Airbnb is working on sophisticated AI capabilities to personalize recommendations based on customer preferences and behaviors. The company amasses data through what it calls “passports,” or user profiles, to help it grasp travel context and preferences.

“The more [guests] interact with us, the better we can actually do predicting and matching,” Stephenson said. “The happier they’re going to be, the more likely they are to come back, and the happier the host is going to be, because we end up having the perfect guest for that host. It’s a nice virtuous cycle.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows more consumers expect generative AI to assist with their travel planning and experiences.

To that end, Airbnb competitors such as Expedia and Booking.com are investing heavily in AI, deploying AI features such as building itineraries, trip planning, and real-time updates for travel.

Meanwhile, Kayak CEO Steve Hafner told PYMNTS in February that the company plans to introduce AI agents this year to help customers with everything from searching for their next trip to checkout.

“One thing Kayak hasn’t done as well as search is booking,” Hafner said. “We’ve had to hand people off to airline or hotel websites or online travel agencies to complete the booking.

“With agentic AI, we can actually facilitate that without the consumer ever having to leave the Kayak experience,” he added.