AI now writes 60% of company's code, says Airbnb CEO

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky revealed during Thursday's earnings call that AI now generates nearly 60% of the company's code, a figure that signals a fundamental shift in how the company structures engineering and management.

Chesky went a step further, stating that there was no space left for "pure people managers" at Airbnb, while asking the managers to either learn how to code or use Claude Code.

According to Chesky, the statistic reflected increased efficiency: "That means our teams are shipping more features and iterating more quickly." This claim situates Airbnb somewhere between Shopify’s stated 50% AI-generated code and Google’s declared 75%. In this context, the normalisation of AI support in the engineering process can be inferred by Airbnb.

Chesky did not provide specifics on whether Airbnb’s percentage referred to code suggestions, functional coding, or a combination of human and AI coding, as most executives tend to avoid addressing these issues when presenting such statistics.

Chesky's mandate that managers "get their hands dirty with coding" or use Claude Code directly challenges the traditional separation between management and individual contribution. He cited design managers and engineering managers "going back to coding", framing hands-on technical work as essential to leadership credibility.

However, Chesky stopped short of confirming whether Airbnb would eliminate managerial positions entirely, saying "it is way too early to say" what the structural implications would be.

Chesky's comments align with wider executive moves to reduce management layers. Coinbase announced a 14% workforce reduction while explicitly flattening its organisational structure to five layers below the CEO. McKinsey & Company has recommended that companies deploy AI agents to streamline operations and reduce managerial overhead.