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Brian Chesky

Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Head of Community & Chairman of the Board, Airbnb

Search every verified Brian Chesky interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, has been publicly discussing the company's integration of artificial intelligence across its platform. In interviews and earnings calls, he described AI as "the best thing that ever happened to Airbnb," citing that the company is shipping 80% more software than a year ago and that nearly half of customer service tickets are now handled by AI. He also discussed the rollout of new AI-powered search features, which will initially be available through a toggle for users, and mentioned that the company is selling tickets on the platform as a new business venture. During Airbnb's Q2 2026 earnings call, Chesky reported revenue growth of 17% to $3.6 billion, calling it one of the company's strongest quarters in years, and raised full-year guidance. Chesky has also spoken about the broader societal implications of AI, expressing concern about the rhetoric used in Silicon Valley. He stated that terms like "superintelligence" sound like "an alien species" to the average person and that many feel AI is "happening to them, not for them." He noted that "anti-AI is unfortunately becoming a bipartisan issue" and called for tech leaders to collaborate more openly on strategy and risks. Additionally, Chesky discussed housing affordability, announcing a $250 million fund to support housing projects and stating that the U.S. is "5 million homes short." He also recounted the company's early history, including how a box of Obama O's cereal helped Airbnb gain admission to Y Combinator.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I am extremely bullish that ultimately AI is going to create a lot more jobs than it destroys. My concern is that there will be this valley where maybe a lot of jobs will be destroyed before the new jobs are created and do people want the new jobs or will they be prepared for the new jobs? So there's going to be some massive societal education. Now we've gone through this with the industrial revolution that happened ”

“I think that the way we talk about AI in Silicon Valley is really bad. We use words like super intelligence. Super intelligence sounds like an alien species. The average person does not want an alien species smarter than them. I think the average person feels like AI is happening to them, not for them. There's very few consumer applications in AI that are actually improving people's lives. Most AI is enterprise. Peop”

“We build fewer houses today in the year 1950 with twice the population. We are 5 million homes short in the United States, the amount of homes we need. That's the equivalent of number of households in New York City and Los Angeles. So, if we want to make cities more affordable, we should build more housing. So, we want to encourage people to build more housing. So, we're going to do three things. The first thing we w”

“The headline is we want to be a solution to the problem, not the problem. We have affordability crisis in America. The root of the affordability crisis is probably housing affordability. It's the number one expense people have. And Airbnb has been pointed to over the last 15 years, especially over the last decade for reasons why cities are expensive. And so the first thing we did is cities said, 'Well, you're not pay”

“Travel is one of the biggest industries in the world. Depending upon how you size it, it's the size of oil, maybe even larger and I think it's going to only grow and I think India is going to be one of the core engines of growth for travel.”

“Travel is one of the biggest industries in the world. Depending upon how you size it, it's the size of oil, maybe even larger and I think it's going to only grow and I think India is going to be one of the core engines of growth for travel.”

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