Airbnb is using artificial intelligence to speed up how it builds new features, according to comments from CEO Brian Chesky.
Chesky shared the update during the company's second quarter earnings call. He said AI has reduced the time it takes to go from an idea to a finished feature by as much as 60%.
He also said Airbnb shipped nearly 80% more features and improvements this year than during the same six-month period last year. Chesky credited AI tools for helping teams build, test, and adjust products faster than before.
AI Is Helping With Search, Sign-Up, and Payments
Chesky pointed out that AI has helped improve several parts of the Airbnb experience. This includes search, sign-up, checkout, and payments.
The company has also rolled out AI tools for hosts. These include a faster onboarding process and better customer support options.
So far, Airbnb's use of AI on the customer side has been limited. Most of it has appeared in smaller features like review summaries and listing highlights.
Chesky has said in the past that a chatbot style interface does not work well for travel searches. Because of this, Airbnb has focused on building AI tools made for search, discovery, and support instead.
During the call, Chesky said Airbnb will begin testing a new AI search tool. Users will be able to type what they want in plain language instead of using filters.
The results will show up in a visual format rather than plain text. Chesky said the page titles could be written by AI and sound conversational, similar to a chatbot.
Airbnb does not plan to force this new search option on everyone. Instead, the company is adding a toggle so users can choose between the current search and the new AI version.
Once someone clicks into a listing, the highlights on that page will also be generated by AI in real time. Chesky said these highlights will be personalized based on the user.
Customer Support Bot Expands to More Languages
Airbnb has leaned more heavily on AI for its behind the scenes support system. The company first launched its AI customer service bot in North America last year.
This year, the bot has expanded to more than 50 languages. Airbnb also plans to make it available for voice calls later this year.
The company said close to 45% of customer support issues that start with the AI bot are resolved without any human stepping in. That has helped lower costs.
Airbnb's support cost per booking dropped 16% compared to last year. The company pointed to the AI bot as a main reason for the drop.
Airbnb also reported its financial results for the quarter ending in June. Revenue rose 17% from the same time last year, reaching 3.6 billion dollars.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization climbed 21% to 1.3 billion dollars for the quarter.
