# Airbnb Says Outside AI Agents Drive Few of Its Nearly 500,000 Daily Bookings By John Kim Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/51127 Published: 2026-11-07T21:54:11.000Z Updated: 2026-11-07T21:54:11.000Z Section: Business > CEO Brian Chesky gave no count for reservations made through Meta’s Muse or startup Instinct and described general-purpose agents as a way for travelers to discover Airbnb. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said bookings through Meta’s Muse and AI startup Instinct are negligible beside Airbnb’s nearly 500,000 daily bookings, describing outside AI agents as a limited source of reservations for the company. Chesky made the comparison while answering a Morgan Stanley analyst. He did not give a separate count for bookings made through either agent. He said he views general-purpose agents as a way for travelers to discover Airbnb, similar to Google, rather than as a threat to the home-rental platform. Chesky’s argument is that travel decisions involve more than routine tasks. He said choosing where to go and where to stay is part of the travel experience, and that many travelers enjoy researching trips. Airbnb has cited a figure of 80% for travelers who enjoy spending time on trip research. Booking decisions also involve other people, Chesky said. An average of three people take part in Airbnb booking decisions, and guests and hosts communicate directly in more than 90% of stays. Chesky said hosts want to know who will stay in their homes and communicate with guests themselves. Airbnb also handles reservations, payments and customer service, which Chesky said makes it harder for outside agents to manage changes and refunds. The company’s planned travel agent is intended to support guests during planning and after booking, including with reservation changes, payment problems, refund requests, rebooking and 24-hour safety support. Airbnb’s [planned first-half 2027 rollout of its travel agent]() will use travel-focused tools such as maps, photos, comparisons, calendars and itineraries. The system is designed to assemble those elements as needed, with chat as one part of the interface rather than the entire experience. Expedia has taken another approach. On Sept. 22, it announced that users could select and pay for Expedia hotel bookings within Muse. Airbnb’s stated plan is to build its own agent and keep the booking and service functions on its platform. Airbnb plans to begin the rollout in the first half of 2027; the company has not set a more specific start date. ## Links in this article - [planned first-half 2027 rollout of its travel agent](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/50866)