Airbnb’s CEO Says AI Is ‘The Best Thing’ to Happen to It. Stock Jumps 17%

Airbnb stock hit a four-year high on Friday, gaining 17% after its CEO made one of the clearest corporate arguments yet for what AI can actually deliver. Brian Chesky did not just claim AI mattered: he showed investors the number.

Second-quarter revenue rose 17% to $3.61 billion, beating Wall Street's estimate of around $3.57 billion, while earnings per share climbed to $1.37 from $1.03 a year earlier. Gross booking value increased 16% to $27.2 billion, nights and seats booked grew 10% to 148.3 million, and Airbnb raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to at least mid-teens, up from its previous low-to-mid-teens forecast.

How AI Cut Airbnb's Costs by 16%

The earnings call highlighted some key figures. Customer support costs per booking dropped 16% year over year, with Airbnb's AI assistant now resolving nearly 45% of issues without a human agent. Chesky also said AI cut the time from product concept to launch by 60% and helped the company ship nearly 80% more features compared with the same period last year.

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