Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has expressed his vision for transforming the company into the ultimate AI concierge using artificial intelligence (AI). Chesky believes that by understanding users on a deeper level, AI can enhance their travel experiences by recommending the perfect properties, communities, and experiences.
During Bloomberg’s Technology Summit, Chesky spoke about the value of developing an AI program that learns about users over time. Instead of simply asking for basic information like destination and travel dates, Airbnb aims to delve into more meaningful questions about users’ preferences and aspirations. By better understanding users, Airbnb can act as a personalized AI concierge, guiding them to their ideal travel options.
Chesky’s enthusiasm for AI is not new, as he previously discussed the potential of AI to reshape the Airbnb experience. He revealed plans to completely reinvent the platform with AI at its core by May 2022, alongside the introduction of smaller AI-related updates in November.
Chesky’s close relationship with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is instrumental in this process. OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, has played a significant role in the AI’s rising popularity. The Airbnb founder disclosed that his engineering team collaborated with OpenAI to design plugins released in March. However, Chesky wanted to wait until AI could truly enhance the user experience before implementing it into Airbnb.
One area where AI will be integrated with Airbnb is customer service. With AI increasingly replacing human interaction in this field, Chesky revealed plans to introduce AI-assisted customer service in the fall. However, his intention is for AI to assist customer service representatives by boosting their efficiency rather than replacing them entirely.
Chesky explained that Airbnb currently has over 70 diverse customer service policies, some of which are over 100 pages long due to numerous contingencies. By implementing AI, the company can streamline this process. Instead of inexperienced representatives searching through lengthy policies, AI can analyze customer complaints and retrieve the relevant policy instantly, enabling human employees to work more efficiently.
Furthermore, AI holds the potential to summarize hundreds of reviews to provide users with concise descriptions of rental properties. Chesky also mentioned the possibility of AI analyzing images provided by property listers and instantly identifying amenities for accurate descriptions.
Overall, Chesky envisions AI as a game-changer for Airbnb, empowering the platform to offer personalized travel recommendations while streamlining customer service. By leveraging AI’s capabilities, Airbnb strives to deliver exceptional customer experiences and solidify its reputation as a leader in the travel industry.
