Theoretically, the AI proxy can book holidays for you, but this doesn't mean that such situations are happening on a large scale at present.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky stated that he is not concerned about Meta's Muse or Instinct AI and other AI proxies diverting traffic, as so far, the number of bookings brought by such proxies has been very low.
On Thursday, during the third-quarter earnings conference call, Chesky said, "We are not currently seeing a lot of traffic coming from Muse and Instinct; the number of reservations is even lower."
The CEO stated that among the nearly 500,000 bookings per day on Airbnb, the number of bookings from Muse or Instinct is "very insignificant." He also added that the traffic from agents peaked at the beginning of October and has not continued to grow since then.
Tcheski said, "My overall view on proxies is that I’m excited about them. I don’t see them as a threat. Instead, I regard them more as an opportunity, just like Google, to help more people discover Airbnb. I think they can be great entry points to direct traffic towards us."
Airbnb Outperformed Wall Street expectations, reporting a 19% year-on-year increase in revenue for this quarter. The company stated that this represents its fastest revenue growth rate in three years, and that the company has "returned to a growth mode."
Personal assistant-type AI agents experienced a surge in popularity this summer. Instinct agents, which were only available by invitation, became popular in Silicon Valley, roughly coinciding with the time when Meta launched its own version Muse. There were some concerns from the outside that AI agents might have an adverse effect on travel companies, as many of these companies rely on direct bookings and customer loyalty.
Brian Chesky stated that general-purpose AI agents should not do everything on their own.
Chesky stated that he believes general-purpose AI agents are not the best option for booking trips, and in the future, people will increasingly turn to specialized agents rather than using a single agent to handle everything.
He said that this is also why Airbnb plans to launch its own AI proxy in the first half of next year. This proxy will be specifically designed for travel scenarios, with the goal of providing customized experiences for tenants.
Che斯基 said, "Current AI agents, such as Muse and Instinct, are adept at simple and routine tasks like booking restaurants or making appointments. But planning a trip is different. Traveling carries a sense of longing. Discovering where to go and where to stay is itself part of the experience."
Czeski stated that 80% of travelers enjoy spending time planning their trips, and they prefer to look at photos, compare accommodation options, and make decisions together with their fellow travelers.
He said that this is also evident from the way customers use Airbnb, and added that 90% of people will send messages to landlords. He mentioned that users typically browse a dozen or so properties and often view 25 photos for each property. Most of the traffic for Airbnb also occurs during working hours, namely between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Tcheski said, “These people are supposed to be working, but they aren’t. We have evidence. In fact, people are secretly using Airbnb. Perhaps they are trying to avoid work. But the key point is that this depends heavily on a sense of longing, so I don’t think many people would want to leave all that to agents to do.”
Executives from Booking.com and Expedia also stated during this week's financial report conference call that the traffic generated so far by AI's agency has been very limited. Last week, Tony Xu, the CEO of DoorDash, mentioned that third-party agencies have only brought in 'a few hundred orders' in total.
