Airbnb earlier announced that as of the end of June this yearSecond quarter financial report for fiscal year 2025CEO Brian Chesky expressed his views on the current application of artificial intelligence in the field of tourism services. He believes that even though AI chatbots and AI agent services (AI Agent) have the potential to change the tourism experience, they should not be regarded as the "new Google". He also pointed out that these services are still unable to replace the core position of traditional search engines for the time being.
Brian Chesky said that he is still exploring the application possibilities of AI chatbots and AI agent services, but emphasized that AI agent services or chatbots should not be regarded as substitutes for Google search services.
In further explanation, Brian Chesky stated that the AI models currently on the market are not exclusive to a single company. For example, the model used by ChatGPT is not proprietary technology. Airbnb can also connect through APIs and even choose AI models from other companies to build services.
Brian Chesky believes the real challenge isn't whether to implement AI for trip planning, but rather how to build higher-quality AI customer service systems. Such systems must ensure the accuracy of the information they provide, avoiding common AI "illusion" errors, while maintaining a friendly and humanistic interactive experience.
Brian Chesky emphasized that accuracy and trust in customer service are crucial for service industries like Airbnb that rely on the platform's reputation.
Compared to highly standardized products like air tickets and hotels, Brian Chesky pointed out that Airbnb's listings and experiences are highly differentiated. Therefore, AI agent services will not make the company's products homogenized. Instead, they have the opportunity to attract potential new customers through smarter interactions and even discover user groups that have never been exposed to Airbnb.
While Brian Chesky didn't reveal whether Airbnb is developing its own AI agent service, he did reveal that Airbnb is focusing on how to integrate AI into the user experience while maintaining brand differentiation. For the travel industry, AI may not be the next search engine revolution, but it may be a key driver of the next wave of user engagement.
