Airbnb accelerates feature development with AI, reducing concept-to-launch time by 60%

Airbnb is leveraging AI to significantly accelerate its product development cycle. During its second-quarter earnings call, CEO Brian Chesky revealed that AI now handles 60% of the company's code writing, reducing the time from feature conception to launch by as much as 60% while increasing shipped features by nearly 80% compared to the same period last year. The company is deploying AI across multiple areas including search, sign-up, checkout, and payment processing. In a major push for consumer-facing AI, Airbnb is now testing an AI-powered search function that allows users to input natural language queries and receive results in a visual, conversational format with AI-generated listing titles and personalized highlights. The feature includes a toggle letting users switch between traditional and AI search options, avoiding mandatory adoption for existing users. On the support side, Airbnb's AI agent handles customer issues with notable efficiency: 45% of support interactions are now resolved entirely without human intervention, reducing the company's per-booking support costs by 16% year-over-year. The AI-powered support system, which launched in North America in 2025, has expanded to over 50 languages with plans to add voice call support later this year.