Airbnb has hired Michael Tabtabai, OpenAI's first global vice president of creative, just under a year after he joined the AI company. Tabtabai will become Airbnb's new vice president of creative starting in August, the company confirmed.
At OpenAI, Tabtabai was instrumental in building the company's brand and marketing operations from scratch. Prior to that, he held roles at Google. The move signals Airbnb's intent to double down on its brand distinctiveness as it develops new technology features.
"The hire plays to the company’s oldest advantage — and its newer hedge against AI mania: brand," noted Skift.
Tabtabai's appointment comes as Airbnb continues to invest in AI-powered tools while deliberately avoiding building a general-purpose chatbot like ChatGPT. Instead, the company is focusing on integrating AI into its core platform in ways that enhance the travel experience.