Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Is Betting Bigger on AI After Admitting He ‘Underestimated’ Its Impact: 'Our Revenue Is Much Higher'
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky admitted underestimating AI's impact, announcing significantly increased AI spending for 2026 to capitalize on revenue and productivity gains. Strong Q2 earnings, with revenue rising 17% year-over-year to $3.61 billion, support this strategic bet. AI tools are enhancing host operations and reducing customer service costs, with 45% of interactions resolved autonomously. The company is leveraging open-source models for consumer products while reserving frontier models for specific tasks.
On Friday, Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) CEO Brian Chesky said artificial intelligence is transforming the company’s business, admitting he had previously “underestimated” its impact.
Chesky Doubles Down on AI Spending
In an interview with CNBC, Chesky said Airbnb will spend “a lot more” on AI in 2026 as the company raised its full-year outlook.
“I have so underestimated the impact of AI,” he said, adding that implementation costs “pale in comparison” to the revenue and productivity gains the company is seeing.
“We are going to spend a lot more on AI tokens this year than we forecasted,” Chesky said, referring to the units by which AI use is measured. “But that’s great because the ROI is there and therefore our revenue is much higher.”
The technology is helping hosts list and price their properties, while AI-powered search and listing tools are still being tested. It is also reducing customer-service costs, with 45% of guest interactions handled with AI being resolved without human assistance.
Chesky also said he is bullish on open-source models for consumer-facing products but declined to name which models Airbnb uses, citing competitive concerns. He said pricier frontier models are reserved for select tasks.
Strong Earnings Back the AI Bet
Airbnb’s second-quarter revenue came in at $3.61 billion, slightly surpassing the analyst estimate by 0.97%. This represents a 17% revenue rise year-over-year. Earnings of $1.37 per share topped expectations by 10.5%.
Chesky credited former Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) generative AI leader Ahmad Al-Dahle, hired as chief technology officer in January, for pushing Airbnb from “middle of the pack” in AI to the front of the pack.
Stock Performance
Airbnb has a market capitalization of $105.69 billion, a 52-week high of $178.48 and a 52-week low of $110.81.
Currently, the stock is trading close to its 52-week high.
The large-cap stock has gained 33.88% year to date.
Price Action: The stock closed the regular session on Friday at $178.07, up 17.43%, according to Benzinga Pro data.
With a strong Growth score of 95.53, Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that ABNB stock has a positive price trend across all time frames.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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