Airbnb's AI Revolution: 60% of New Code Written by AI

The travel giant's latest earnings call highlighted its significant adoption of AI tools, but also exposed the challenges of implementing AI in the travel and e-commerce spaces.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently shared that AI tools have written 60% of the company's new code in Q1 2026. This echoes comments from other tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Spotify, which have also talked about AI accelerating their programming.

Expanding AI Use in Customer Support

Airbnb has been slowly expanding its use of AI for customer support over the past year. Chesky said on Thursday that its customer support AI bot now handles 40% of issues without escalating to a human agent, up from about 33% earlier this year.

AI-Powered Search Function

The travel company has also been experimenting with using AI to power its search function. However, Chesky acknowledged the difficulty of truly employing AI tools in the travel or e-commerce spaces, pointing to weaknesses in the chatbot user interface.

Challenges in Implementing AI in Travel and E-commerce

I do not think anyone has figured out AI for travel or e-commerce yet […] The design of a chatbot, as currently constructed, does not work for travel or e-commerce. There are four problems: too much text (most of e-commerce is photo-forward); no direct manipulation (you have to type everything rather than adjust sliders); poor comparison (you can get lost trying to compare thousands of options in a thread); and most bookings are multiplayer, while chatbots are primarily single-player, and not map-native.

Q1 2026 Earnings

Airbnb said net income rose 3.9% to $160 million in the first quarter, while revenue increased 18% to $2.7 billion, compared to a year earlier. Nights booked went up 9% to 156.2 million in the period. The company said its new "Reserve now, pay later" feature drew almost 20% of its gross booking value in the quarter.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

This Week Only: Buy one pass, get the second at 50% off. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation.