How Two Tech Companies Are Using AI for Customer Support

Airbnb and Chime are proving that AI can be used for high-volume customer support as long as there is a clear path to live agents.

As companies in the accounts receivable management industry strategize on how to move artificial intelligence from a back-office function to a front-line consumer touchpoint, some companies outside of our industry are discovering that the path to successful automation relies on how gracefully the technology steps aside for human intervention.

For businesses handling highly sensitive transactions — whether booking lodging or managing personal finance — the stakes of automation are particularly high.

Travel platform Airbnb chose to deploy its AI customer service assistant at the bottom of its operational funnel, specifically targeting customer support rather than initial search queries. On a May 2026 earnings call, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky noted that the platform’s AI assistant resolved more than 40% of customer inquiries during the first quarter of the year, an increase from approximately 33% in the previous quarter.

Chesky said the company deliberately started with customer support to tackle a complex operational area where the stakes are elevated.

“The reason why [we started with the bottom of the funnel is because] the stakes are high, you cannot hallucinate, you have to answer things very, very quickly because they are calling and they have problems,” Chesky said during the call.

The Airbnb system must navigate complex data privacy rules, translate multiple languages, and synthesize nearly 100 corporate policies across millions of historical data points to resolve issues accurately. However, Chesky stressed that the technology relies on a robust escalation mechanism to transfer the conversation to a human employee, particularly during time-sensitive situations or trust and safety incidents.

Similarly, the digital banking platform Chime scaled its own customer service using AI. Chime deployed an AI copilot named Jade to manage a substantial portion of its 50 million support interactions in 2024. Today, automation and AI manage 70% of all Chime customer interactions, according to the company.

Speaking at a joint industry event hosted by CIO Dive and CX Dive, Chime Chief Operating Officer Janelle Sallenave explained that convincing users to trust an automated agent with financial cash flows required removing all barriers to human support. When customers initially interrupted the AI to request a live representative, the company chose not to block them.

“One of our golden rules is we will never introduce friction,” Sallenave said at the event. “If you want to talk to a human, we’ll give it.”

By allowing consumers to easily opt out of the automated experience, Chime eventually saw users become more comfortable interacting with the AI agent. Sallenave said that customer satisfaction related to support interactions grew by approximately 80% over three years, while the company’s cost to serve dropped by up to 60%.

ACA’s Take

The operational strategies used by Airbnb and Chime mirror the core compliance and customer service philosophies advocated by ACA International for the accounts receivable management industry. As collection agencies increasingly adopt conversational AI and automated voice agents, maintaining consumer trust is critical.

ACA is also using AI to support members in more practical and accessible ways. One example is AVA, your AI-powered virtual assistant, designed to give you instant access to ACA’s expertise. AVA is also incorporated into ACA’s State Guide tool, helping subscribers find the information they need more quickly. Ask her a question today.

As AI continues to shape customer support, tools like AVA show how the technology can be used responsibly to improve access to information, support better decisions, and help members navigate a rapidly changing industry.

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