Airbnb's Cautious AI Approach: Customer Service First, Trip Planning Later
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced that the company will initially integrate AI into its customer support system, rather than directly into travel planning tools. He believes the current AI technology is still nascent, similar to the early days of the internet. While AI will offer multilingual support and efficient handling in customer service, AI-powered trip planning tools are still some time away. Airbnb plans to expand AI to search and personalized travel concierge services in the future, and anticipates that AI will gradually improve internal productivity in the coming years, particularly in customer service and engineering, leading to potential cost savings and profit growth. The company reported strong Q4 earnings, exceeding expectations.