For decades, the “blue link” was the undisputed front door to the internet. But according to Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and recent data from McKinsey, that door is being replaced by a conversational interface.
There is emerging consensus that AI-powered search isn’t just a new way to browse but is a significantly more powerful engine for conversion.
In a recent earnings call, Chesky revealed that traffic originating from AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity is converting at a higher rate than traditional Google referrals.
Airbnb is focusing on a fundamental AI-native rebuild of its platform. Rather than just acting as a search engine, Airbnb wants the app to know its users, using a vast trove of identity and review data to proactively assist with planning.
“We are building an experience where the app doesn’t just search for you; it understands you,” said Chesky. This vision includes a natural language interface that allows guests to describe their ideal trip in plain English, moving beyond simple date and destination filters.
A McKinsey report, New Front Door to the Internet, suggests that we are already in the middle of a massive shift in search behaviour, with half of consumers now using AI-powered search to guide buying decisions. Nearly 50% of Google searches now feature AI summaries (AI Overviews), a figure expected to hit 75% by 2028. The firm projects that by 2028, $750bn in US revenue will be funnelled through AI-powered search.
We are building an experience where the app doesn’t just search for you; it understands you
— Brian Chesky
The secret to AI’s high conversion rate, says McKinsey, lies in the shortened journey. In traditional search, a consumer scans multiple review sites, compares prices and summarises insights themselves. In the AI-powered journey, the AI aggregates technical specs and pricing into a single, cohesive response. Users can add constraints (“I need a house with a kitchen for eight people near a trailhead”) to get curated results immediately. Clicks from AI platforms are often more deliberate because the “research phase” happened within the AI interface before the user ever reached the site.
The shift towards AI isn’t just external. Airbnb’s internal operations have become a testing ground for this execution-driven model. Its AI-powered customer support bot handles one-third of all North American inquiries without any human intervention.
The goal for 2026 is even more ambitious: expanding this capability to every language Airbnb supports and transitioning from text-based chat to AI voice agents. Internally, the company is pushing its engineers to utilise AI tools, reflecting a broader industry drive for hyper-efficiency.
To survive this transition, the marketing world is shifting from SEO to GEO (generative engine optimisation). Winning brands are taking proactive steps by implementing robust diagnostics, including tracking visibility and sentiment across major large language models like GPT-4, Gemini and Claude; optimising third-party reviews and community discussions, as these often account for 90% of the data AI search uses to recommend a brand; and providing unique, high-quality information that is easy for AI agents to synthesise.
As search becomes more conversational and integrated into the entire user journey — from initial discovery to final support — the brands that successfully “agentify” their experience will be the ones that capture the next generation of loyalists.
The big take-out: As search becomes more conversational and integrated into the entire user journey, the brands that successfully ‘agentify’ their experience will be the ones that capture the next generation of loyalists.
