Airbnb says it’s launching an AI travel agent in the first half of 2027

Airbnb says it will launch its own AI travel agent in the first half of 2027, TechCrunch reports. The date came in the company's third-quarter shareholder letter, which also gave its fullest description so far of what the agent will do.

Chief executive Brian Chesky told analysts that general-purpose agents handle routine tasks such as restaurant reservations well, but that planning a trip is different because people enjoy the research. He said 80 percent of travelers like spending time researching trips, and want to look at photos, compare homes and decide together with the people they are traveling with.

Instead of a text-only chat, Airbnb's agent will assemble an interface around each question, drawing on a library of hundreds of travel-specific components such as maps, photos, comparisons, calendars and itineraries. Chesky said it will feel "a little bit like generative UI".

The company says the agent will also help during a trip, including changing a reservation, fixing a payment problem, handling refunds and rebooking, and reaching round-the-clock safety support, which it argues an outside agent cannot easily do. Over time it expects the agent to cover services and experiences as well as homes and hotels.

The announcement came with strong results. Revenue rose 19 percent to $4.87 billion, ahead of Wall Street estimates, and Airbnb raised its 2026 revenue growth forecast from the mid-teens to the high teens.