Airbnb is launching AI search and expanding its service offerings to compete directly with hotels. The company is adding meal delivery, laundry, baby gear rental, and equipment hire for boats and skis to its app. Grocery delivery is also being rolled out in more areas.
AI search without a chatbot
Chief Executive Brian Chesky has avoided a chatbot interface for this update. Instead, users can toggle on a feature to search properties using text or voice. The system then displays dynamic filters based on the query.
Typing “baby” into the search bar automatically surfaces options for cribs, playgrounds, and children’s books. The platform uses the same technology to highlight specific property features and to generate AI summaries for items on a wishlist.
“Anyone can vibe-code a search function, but to do something that doesn’t kill conversion rate, that’s the hard part.”
Chesky told TechCrunch the company is just starting this work. He noted that building a basic search engine is simple, but doing it for an e-commerce platform processing $100 billion in volume is difficult.
Connecting through trips
The update doubles down on social features designed to encourage bookings. Last year, the app allowed connections to view each other’s profiles. Now, users can see a map of trips taken by their network.
Tapping a trip reveals where a friend stayed and which experiences they booked, such as food tastings or craft workshops. Privacy settings allow users to opt out of sharing their travel history.
Airbnb is also creating pages that aggregate guest reviews to highlight local dining and activities in specific neighbourhoods.
What it means
Travelers can now find homes that match specific needs without typing every requirement manually. The social map helps users follow in the footsteps of friends, while the new service menu allows for booking extras like laundry or ski gear in the same app.
