50% of Airbnb's US customers interact with company's AI chatbot: Report

Airbnb launches AI support bot in the U.S., now handling half of user queries and cutting demand for live agents by 15%, per CEO Chesky.

May 5, 2025 - 09:05

50% of Airbnb's US customers interact with company's AI chatbot: Report

Airbnb has reportedly started quietly deploying an AI-powered customer service chatbot across the United States, aiming to streamline user support and reduce reliance on human agents.

AI now handles nearly half of U.S. customer queries

As of early May 2025, approximately 50% of Airbnb’s U.S. user base has been interacting with the AI assistant, according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who confirmed the rollout during the company’s recent earnings call, as per TechCrunch. The company expects full coverage for all U.S. users by the end of the month.

The chatbot handles standard customer inquiries, such as reservation changes, cancellation policies, and refund statuses. According to the company, the bot has already contributed to a 15% reduction in users needing to escalate issues to live support.

Strategic shift toward AI-driven support

Airbnb’s foray into AI-powered support is part of a broader, measured strategy to integrate artificial intelligence without overextending its capabilities. Unlike some competitors such as Expedia and Booking.com, which have launched full-scale AI travel planning tools, Airbnb is limiting its initial AI deployment to backend services like customer support.

Chesky has also described AI as being in its “mid-to-late ‘90s internet phase”, i.e, a technology with immense promise, but not yet ready for full-scale transformation of travel experiences.

How the bot works

The customer service bot is designed to mimic the tone and style of human support staff while relying on Airbnb’s internal knowledge base. The system is trained to handle common requests autonomously and escalate more complex or sensitive issues to human representatives.

Airbnb has not yet disclosed what AI models power the assistant, though it confirmed that the technology is developed in-house. The bot is expected to continually improve through reinforcement learning based on user interactions.

User data powers personalisation

In parallel with the support rollout, Airbnb is continuing to invest in personalisation features. This includes what the company calls “passports”, which are user profiles built from travel history, preferences, and contextual data. These profiles will inform future AI systems aimed at offering tailored accommodation recommendations and potentially itinerary suggestions.

The end goal is to reportedly create a “concierge in your pocket” experience, though Chesky has emphasised that such capabilities remain a longer-term aspiration.