Airbnb has put a date on its own AI agent. In its third-quarter results published on 5 November, the company said it plans to start rolling out an agent that helps guests plan and book trips in the first half of 2027. It had previously said only that the agent would arrive within about a year, TechCrunch reports.
The announcement came with Airbnb's strongest growth in years. Revenue rose 19% from a year earlier to $4.9 billion in the quarter, which the company calls its fastest revenue growth in more than three years. Gross booking value grew 21% to $27.7 billion, nights and seats booked grew 16%, and net income was $1.9 billion.
Not another chatbot
Airbnb argues that a chat window is the wrong way to plan a trip. It says its agent will build the screen around each question, drawing on a library of hundreds of travel-specific elements, such as maps, photos, comparisons, calendars and itineraries, and putting them together in real time. Chief executive Brian Chesky told analysts it will feel "a little bit like generative UI", according to TechCrunch.
The company also makes a case against general-purpose assistants booking stays on its platform. "We don't believe people will use one AI agent for everything," Airbnb wrote in its letter. Because it handles the reservation, payment and support, it says its agent will be able to change bookings, fix payment problems, handle refunds and rebooking and give 24-hour safety support, which it says outside agents cannot easily do. Over time, Airbnb wants the agent to plan a whole trip across homes, hotels, services and experiences.
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Airbnb says its AI support assistant now works in more than 50 languages. In the third quarter about 40% of all customer support issues were resolved without a human agent, up from a third in the second quarter, and support cost per booking fell more than 17% from a year earlier. The assistant is being extended to phone support in the US.
Other AI features added this year include search by description or voice, AI-suggested filters, AI summaries of listings in search results and side-by-side comparisons of saved homes. Hosts get AI summaries of how their listings are performing and recommended nightly prices.
Guidance raised
Airbnb raised its full-year forecast and now expects revenue growth in the high teens for 2026, up from mid-teens, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 36%. For the fourth quarter it expects revenue of $3.22 billion to $3.28 billion. It also announced a new authorisation to buy back up to $12 billion of its shares. The company said it is "closely monitoring ongoing developments in EMEA", the region that includes Africa, without giving details.
