Airbnb has named Ahmad Al-Dahle as its new chief technology officer, tapping Meta’s former generative AI head to accelerate the company’s artificial intelligence initiatives in travel services.

Al-Dahle, who led Meta’s Generative AI division and oversaw development of the widely-adopted Llama open-source models, replaces Ari Balogh, who departed the CTO position in December after seven years.

CEO Brian Chesky announced the hire in an internal email, calling Al-Dahle one of the world’s leading AI experts. Chesky outlined ambitious plans to transform Airbnb beyond a booking platform into a comprehensive travel companion capable of acting as a concierge throughout entire trips.

Speaking to CNBC, Chesky explained that AI could enable the platform to learn from millions of customer interactions and assist with broader travel search and planning functions, moving the company toward more personalized, intelligent experiences.

Before Meta, Al-Dahle spent 16 years at Apple, contributing to foundational iPhone technologies including display systems and multi-touch interfaces. He also worked on the original Apple Watch and later directed AI efforts for Apple’s autonomous vehicle program.

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The appointment reflects growing competition among travel companies to recruit top AI talent from major tech firms. Expedia recently made a similar move, hiring a former Google executive for senior AI leadership.

Al-Dahle will lead Airbnb’s engineering and data science teams from San Francisco. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman welcomed the appointment, noting that AI integration could significantly enhance travel products, an industry that has remained relatively distant from AI innovation until now.

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