Airbnb is still working on integrating AI throughout its app, but it won’t include an AI chatbot for trip planning – at least not yet.
Dave Stephenson, chief business officer for Airbnb, said the short-term rental giant is working with OpenAI to develop a chatbot for users.
“We’re not satisfied with it,” Stephenson said Thursday during the Phocuswright conference in Phoenix. “I think the interface tools today – using chat as a method to plan a trip – we don’t think it’s good enough, and it really doesn’t meet our design standards.”
Many other travel companies have released AI chatbots for trip planning and inventory searches. Skift has analyzed many of these over the past two years, from startups to large online travel agencies. No one has provided a reliable experience.
Airbnb is still trying to figure out the future of its search.
“I don’t think a chatbot is the way it’s going to work … we’re actively working behind the scenes to figure that out,” he said.
Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, said in August that it it will take years to rebuild Airbnb into a fully AI-powered application.
Gathering Traveler Data for Airbnb’s Future
Airbnb is focused on implementing AI to improve other parts of the platform.
That includes developing a better algorithm for matching guests with rentals. The app has 8 million properties and 5 million users. A new photo tour feature is intended to show photos of the property in an order that gives visitors the best understanding of its layout.
A major project underway involves gathering user data by asking them to add more details to their profiles. Airbnb now asks users to answer questions like, “What are you obsessed with?” and “What is your most useless skill?”
It’s part of an effort to create more personalized experiences. Personalization is only possible with a high level of quality customer data. Then, AI can access that data to match travelers with accommodations that meet specific needs.
“The more we understand about you, the better we can match you to the perfect place, the better experience and stay you’ll have,” Stephenson said.
Chesky said on Airbnb’s first-quarter earnings call this year that user profiles will be an important part of the app’s future, which he expects will include more than just short-term rentals.
Chesky said in September that he wanted to constant launch new line of business. The company has been created accepting new applications from experience hosts and in May a pop culture experiences category was launched called Icons.
“I think in the future, the profile will be the center of Airbnb’s solar system, and the home will be one of the many categories orbiting the profile,” Chesky said in May.