Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, opened up about the company’s future at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference. Focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), community building, and business expansion, Chesky outlined an ambitious vision: transforming Airbnb from a vacation rental platform into “a platform for everything you need to travel and live around the world”.
“I think everything is back on the table,” he said.
The AI boom and a new app experience
Chesky made it clear that the top priority is to create a truly AI-native app—not just a chatbot, but an “ultimate travel and life concierge.” He explained that Airbnb will not build its own foundation models, but will leverage leading existing technologies, tailoring them to the needs of travelers and hosts.
The company has already integrated AI tools into customer service, and in 2025 it plans to upgrade in-app search. “We’ve built the jet, but we haven’t yet built the airplane,” he said.
From marketplace to global community
The second pillar of Chesky’s vision is to evolve Airbnb from a rental marketplace into a global community. The aim is not to create another social network, but a system that brings people closer together in the physical world.
“Social networks were invented and then… reinvented. They became social media and lost their original purpose: connection. We want to build something different—a community based on real identities,” he emphasized.
Airbnb currently has 200 million verified user identities—a number that, as Chesky pointed out, surpasses the total of valid U.S. passports. Using this foundation, the company aims to build user profiles that enable service exchanges, experience discovery, and community connections around the world.
Airbnb as the “Amazon of travel”
The third priority is expansion beyond vacation rentals. Chesky cited Amazon as an example—a company that started as an online bookstore and became a diversified global giant.
Plans include long-term rentals, hotels, and a full range of travel and hospitality services. The recent launch of the Services category and the refresh of Experiences are, according to Chesky, the first steps toward this transformation.
“There’s no one-stop shop for hospitality services,” he said. “We started with travel services, but we can go much further. We want to become a platform for anything people need to travel or live anywhere in the world.”
Airbnb hosts at the heart of the strategy
Airbnb is focusing not only on travelers, but also on hosts. Many hosts, Chesky stressed, are individuals rather than businesses, and they need support in areas such as cleaning, booking management, accounting, and supplies.
The company plans to build an ecosystem of host services, which could also become a significant revenue stream. “So far we’ve offered a lot for free, but our hosts themselves tell us they’re willing to pay for premium services,” he explained.
Airbnb is also exploring new monetization methods, such as promoted listings, while keeping in mind that advertising in the AI era needs to be very different from traditional models.
A 10-year horizon
Chesky clarified that this transformation will not happen in two or three years, but over a decade. “If we succeed, Airbnb will be one of the apps with the strongest emotional connection to its users,” he said, adding that the goal is to “make the world a little smaller” by blending technology with real-world experiences.
With access from 1.6 billion devices each year and a brand already synonymous with alternative travel, Airbnb is seeking to redefine its role in the new era of artificial intelligence.
