Airbnb launched a new AI-powered search feature as part of its fall update. CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky said that interfaces based solely on chatbots were not suitable for travel discovery and that the company was seeking a different user experience. According to Chesky, chatbots present only a small number of options at a time and require numerous interactions to reach a result. In addition, finding inspiration, browsing and planning a trip are important parts of the user experience.
Chesky announced that Airbnb would explore “multiplayer” interfaces over the next three to six months, allowing multiple people to use the same AI. This approach focuses on enabling families or groups of friends to plan trips together. In his view, AI interfaces will combine pre-designed, predictable screens with “generative” interfaces created by AI in real time. Startups such as Monogram and Wabi are also experimenting with this type of interface.
Airbnb plans to develop its software infrastructure to work more seamlessly with AI agents such as Instinct and Muse that perform tasks on behalf of users. Chesky said these agents could provide customer guidance, but users should also be able to access functions such as search, messaging hosts, comparison, identity verification and maps. He argued that platforms could become more interoperable as agents communicate across apps. He said Airbnb was developing agents for its discovery tab and customer service, and that these could eventually connect with other agents via MCP.
According to Chesky, the industry’s fundamental shortcoming is the lack of a true operating system designed for AI. Existing apps run on iOS, macOS and Windows, while companies are competing to become the “primary agent” that manages all of users’ tasks. Chesky said ChatGPT’s app store initiative failed because it lacked a sufficient software developer kit and operating system support. He also said the Airbnb experience on Muse and Instinct did not work well, indicating that consumer AI has not yet been solved.
Chesky disagrees with the two views that interfaces will disappear entirely and that software will become wholly generative. He believes apps will remain important unless Apple and Google establish a new platform. Saying that voice use will eventually overtake typing, Chesky said Airbnb would deploy voice agents this fall for use in search and customer service. He also said AI was helping the company develop features more quickly and enabling him, as CEO, to access information with fewer meetings.
Why it matters
This approach points to a search for a hybrid experience that preserves the stages of discovery, comparison, and planning rather than reducing travel search to a simple question-and-answer interaction. Particularly for families and groups of friends, the aim is for AI to become a tool that involves multiple users—not just one—in the shared decision-making process. The fact that agents work together with functions such as search, messaging, verification, and maps shows that Airbnb is designing a service capable of connecting with different software rather than a closed app. However, unresolved issues remain, including the reliable operation of AI agents across apps and the preservation of the screens users need. The debate over the lack of an operating system also shows that this transformation is not limited to developing new features.
Term: agent
An AI agent is software that calls tools and performs multi-step tasks to achieve a goal rather than producing a single response.