Airbnb has announced that ex-Meta executive Ahmad Al-Dahle has been named CTO.
Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky shared the news in an email to employees, calling Al-Dahle “one of the world's leading experts in AI.”
Based in San Francisco, Al-Dahle is the former VP and head of generative AI at Meta, founding the company's generative AI group and oversaw the team behind the Llama open-source AI models.
Chesky highlighted Airbnb's AI vision in the email and Al-Dahle's role in working towards these goals.
“In a world becoming more artificial, people are craving what’s real: real connection with real people in the real world,” Chesky wrote.
“We have a rare opportunity, and responsibility, to shape how people travel, live and interact with AI in a way that strengthens human connection and draws people into the physical world, not away from it. This isn’t just a technical challenge; it’s a human one. And it requires leadership that understands both the power of technology and how to responsibly use it.”
Referencing Al-Dahle's role, Chesky added, “He connects big ideas with technical depth, highly values design and believes engineering should be a true strategic partner in everything we do.”
Chesky has been consistently vocal about the company's AI integrations, pointing to its integrations during Airbnb's third quarter earnings call last year.
“Over the past year, we've been laying the foundation for a more intelligent, more personalized Airbnb,” Chesky said.
“We now have more than a dozen AI work streams underway, and they're all focused on really creating a more personal experience for guests and hosts and making it easier to discover what we offer.”
Al-Dahle's picks up the reins from Aristotle Balogh, who joined Airbnb as CTO in late 2018, having previously worked at Google and Yahoo. Balogh stepped down last month.
In a recent interview with PhocusWire's Linda Fox at The Phocuswright Conference, Airbnb chief business officer Dave Stephenson said the company has seen success with AI in customer service, and he anticipates the tech playing a larger role in personalization.
“The more we understand about you and your trip needs, the better be can connect it,” he said, also stating that AI is likely to benefit its services and experiences verticals.
Watch the full conversation below.
Airbnb as an everything platform