Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently said that the company is finding more revenue from AI chatbots than from traditional search engines like Google. As reported by Fortune, Speaking in the company’s latest earnings call, Chesky explained that traffic from platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Kiwi converts at a higher rate than Google Search traffic. “From a business standpoint, I think AI is the best thing that ever happened to Airbnb,” Chesky said. “Traffic that comes from chatbots converts at a higher rate than traffic that comes from Google.”

AI at the core of Airbnb’s growth

Chesky further explained that Airbnb has quietly transformed into an AI-native company. The platform now handles more than. $100 billion in payments annually, manages 200 million verified IDs and uses AI to power a third of its customer service tickets in North America. He also stressed on the fact that AI is not just an add-on but a fundamental part of Airbnb’s operations, from fraud prevention to customer support.Chesky further revealed that in order to strengthen this shift, Airbnb has hired Ahmad Al-Dhale an AI expert who helped in building Meta’s Llama model to lead age company’s AI strategy. Chesky also believes this expertise will enable Airbnb to fine-tune general AI models with its proprietary data, giving it a competitive edge in travel.

Airbnb earnings beat expectations

Airbnb’s fourth‑quarter 2025 results underscored the impact of this transformation. The company reported $2.78 billion in revenue and $20.4 billion in gross booking value, a 16% year‑over‑year increase. Chesky credited much of this performance to AI innovations, which he said are improving search, customer support, and booking flows.Chesky’s philosophy is clear: companies must disrupt themselves before competitors do. “If you don’t disrupt yourself, someone else will. And we’re not going to allow people to disrupt ourselves. We’re going to disrupt ourselves first,” he said.He also stressed that AI is not a zero‑sum game. Since models like Gemini and Claude are available to all companies, success will depend on specialization and industry expertise. For Airbnb, that means tailoring AI to the unique needs of travel and hospitality.