Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky says artificial intelligence agents have yet to become a meaningful source of bookings for the accommodation platform, pushing back against concerns that autonomous digital assistants could disrupt the travel industry’s direct-booking business model.
Speaking during Airbnb’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Chesky said the company was seeing limited traffic and even fewer completed bookings from Meta’s Muse and Instinct AI, two personal assistant agents designed to carry out tasks on behalf of users.
Of the nearly 500,000 bookings Airbnb processes daily, only a “very non-material” number originate from the two AI agents, he said. Traffic from the services peaked in early October and has not increased since.
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“We’re not seeing a lot of traffic, and even fewer bookings, from Muse and Instinct yet,” Chesky said.
The comments offer an early indication of the gap between the capabilities being promoted by AI developers and actual consumer behavior. Although agents can theoretically search for accommodation, compare options and complete reservations, their ability to generate substantial commercial activity remains limited.
Chesky said he was not concerned about the emergence of general-purpose AI assistants, arguing that they could eventually introduce more customers to Airbnb rather than replace the platform.
“My general philosophy on agents are, I’m generally excited about them. I don’t see them as a threat,” he said. “I see them kind of like Google, as an opportunity for more people to discover Airbnb. I think they’ll be great handoff to us.”
Airbnb’s results also provided a stronger backdrop for the company’s position. The platform beat Wall Street estimates and reported a 19% year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue, its fastest revenue growth in three years. The company described itself as being “back in growth mode”.
The debate over AI agents has intensified as technology companies develop systems capable of performing tasks that previously required users to navigate multiple websites and applications.
Instinct’s invite-only assistant attracted attention in Silicon Valley during the summer, around the same period Meta introduced Muse. The products have raised questions about whether consumers will keep relying on AI intermediaries to search for travel deals, make reservations and complete purchases.
That possibility could challenge travel companies whose businesses depend on direct customer relationships, repeat bookings and control over the discovery process.
Chesky, however, argued that travel differs from routine activities such as scheduling appointments or making restaurant reservations. He expects consumers to favor specialized AI agents designed around particular needs rather than relying on one general-purpose assistant to manage every aspect of their lives.
“Today’s AI agents, like Muse and Instinct, are good at simple routine tasks like making a restaurant reservation or scheduling an appointment. But planning a trip is different,” he said. “Travel is aspirational. Discovering where to go and where to stay is part of the experience.”
His argument is that travel planning involves emotional and social decisions that consumers may not want to delegate entirely to software. Choosing a destination, comparing accommodation, reviewing photographs, and discussing options with friends or family are part of the experience, rather than simply steps required to complete a transaction.
Chesky said 80% of travelers report enjoying the time they spend planning trips. He also pointed to Airbnb’s platform activity, saying 90% of customers message their hosts, while users typically examine about a dozen listings and swipe through 25 photographs for each property.
He added that much of the platform’s traffic comes between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., suggesting that customers spend time browsing accommodation during working hours.
“These people are supposed to be working, and they’re not. We have evidence. People are actually secretly using Airbnb,” Chesky said. “Maybe they’re trying to escape their job. But the idea is that it’s highly aspirational, so I don’t think a lot of people want to offload all that to an agent.”
The figures support Airbnb’s argument that its service is not simply a booking mechanism. Its value also comes from helping customers discover properties, evaluate alternatives and communicate with hosts before making a decision.
However, limited agent-generated bookings at this stage do not establish that AI intermediaries will remain insignificant. The technology is still developing, and adoption could increase as agents become more reliable at handling payments, personal preferences, cancellations, and complex travel arrangements.
Airbnb Prepares Its Own Specialized AI Agent
Rather than relying entirely on external AI platforms, Airbnb plans to begin rolling out its own travel-focused AI agent in the first half of 2027.
Chesky said the assistant would be built specifically for travel and designed to provide guests with a more customized experience. The strategy implies that Airbnb wants to incorporate AI into its existing customer journey while retaining control over how users discover accommodation and complete bookings.
A specialized assistant could draw on the platform’s accommodation listings and host information to help customers narrow their choices. It would also allow Airbnb to develop AI features around the particular requirements of travel planning, rather than depending on general-purpose agents that may direct users across competing services.
The approach could become important as AI platforms seek to move beyond answering questions and begin completing transactions. If consumers continue to ask agents to organize trips, companies that control the underlying inventory, customer relationships and booking infrastructure may have an advantage.
Airbnb is not alone in reporting limited commercial activity from external AI assistants. Executives at Booking.com and Expedia also said during earnings calls this week that AI agents had generated very little traffic for their platforms.
DoorDash Chief Executive Tony Xu similarly said last week that third-party agents had generated “several hundred orders in total”.
These early figures suggest that the transition from conversational AI to autonomous commerce is taking longer than some expectations around AI agents might imply. The ability to execute a task does not automatically translate into consumer adoption, particularly when purchases involve personal preferences, financial commitments, and decisions requiring coordination with other people.
The bottom line: analysts see Airbnb’s plan to develop its own specialized assistant as a sign that the company sees AI as an opportunity to reshape how customers use its platform, while keeping the booking relationship within its ecosystem.