A Microsoft executive showed how AI agents can help travelers avoid Airbnb fees

A Microsoft executive showed how AI agents can help travelers avoid Airbnb fees Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Airbnb Here's a clever way to save money on your next vacation rental. And it shows how AI agents can make everyday tasks easier.Nicolas Bustamante, an AI executive at Microsoft, recently shared a trick on X that saved his family 14% on an Airbnb booking.Before paying, he asked an AI agent to search the web for the same property on its own website. The agent found it, checked availability for the same dates, and discovered that booking directly was cheaper.This isn't a new trick. Savvy travelers have long found properties they like on Airbnb or Vrbo, then searched the web to find the exact same rental and book directly with the owner. That can save both travelers and hosts the fees charged by these platforms.AI agents make this process more seamless by doing the searching and comparing for you.That's potentially bad news for Airbnb and Vrbo, but good news for travelers and hosts.Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says agents are barely making any bookings on his platform. Maybe that's because they're booking elsewhere, Brian.Sign up for the AI Insider newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Alistair Barr is the driving force behind Business Insider's AI Insider franchise, including the AI Insider newsletter. Sign up here. Before that, he was Business Insider's Global Tech Editor and the Big Tech team leader at Bloomberg, following a reporting career at The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reuters, and MarketWatch. Alistair covers all things Big Tech, along with startups and venture capital. He writes analysis and columns about topics including AI, cloud computing, data centers, semiconductors, online search, e-commerce, EVs, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. AI Insider Artificial Intelligence AirBnB More