Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says these two types of employees will struggle most as AI reshapes workplaces, says 'I don't think managers...'

At a time when prominent technology CEOs are warning people that artificial intelligence (AI) threatens every single job, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky has expressed a slightly different view about the technology and the consequences that come with it. According to Brian Chesky, the biggest threat to Gen-Z and young IT professionals is not just the technology but the problem is not learning to evolve alongside it. The tech CEO's view is: there are two kinds of employees who “will not survive the age of AI.”

“The two types of people who will not make the shift to AI are pure people managers, and people who are rigid and don’t want to change and evolve,” Brian Chesky said recently on the Invest Like The Best podcast, reports The Fortune. His views are far more optimistic when compared to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman.

ALSO READ: R Madhavan taught his son Vedaant about contraception, personal boundaries before teenage


Brian Chesky believes traditional management roles may soon face major disruption and in the ever-growing AI era, leaders can no longer survive by simply managing teams from a distance. Instead, bosses will need to become “hybrid people managers”, meaning leaders who are directly involved in the actual work and understand the technical side of the business.

'Managers won't have any value'

Brian Chesky says that future leaders must stay connected to the "context" of the work, contribute actively to projects and understand how understand how products are being built rather than just overseeing employees.

ALSO READ: Thalapathy Vijay's 10th viral marksheet

“I don’t think people managers will have any value in the future. When I mean people managers, [I mean] people that only manage people,” Chesky continued. “You can’t just be these managers where you’re people’s therapists, and you’re just doing meetings, you’re doing one-on-ones.”

Giving an example of former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive, the Airbnb CEO explained how the British executive struck the right balance between product design and team leadership. Chesky said it’s good to build relationships with staff, have routine check-ins, and go out to dinner with direct reports.

Tech-savvy workers can thrive in AI era

The Airbnb CEO has said that AI has been crucial and has played an instrumental role in the success of his $84.4 billion short-term rental company. He is now of the view that AI's usage is a necessity, doubling down on the importance of adapting to an AI-driven world.

“From a business standpoint, I think AI is the best thing that ever happened to Airbnb,” Chesky told CNBC in an interview earlier this year. “The founder-led companies and the companies that are prepared to change and transform are the companies that are going to benefit from AI, because AI means everyone changes,” he continued. “And if you don’t change, you’re going to be disrupted.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang who said: "Every job will be affected, and immediately. It is unquestionable,” Huang said at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in 2025. “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”

“I would recommend 100% of everybody take advantage of AI,” Jensen advised. “Don’t be that person who ignores this technology and as a result, loses their job.”

Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of streaming empire Netflix, has also admitted that the tech will impact entertainment jobs. “I don’t believe that an A.I. program is going to write a better screenplay than a great writer, or is going to replace a great performance,” Sarandos told The New York Times in 2024. “A.I. is not going to take your job. The person who uses A.I. well might take your job.”

Who is Brian Chesky?

According to the official website, Brian Chesky is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Airbnb and sets the vision and strategy for the company. In 2007, Brian and his co-founder became Airbnb’s first hosts. Since then, Brian has overseen Airbnb’s growth to become a community of over 5 million hosts who have welcomed more than 2 billion guests across 240+ countries and regions.

A graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design, Brian has embedded his creative roots in Airbnb’s culture, product and community. This design-driven approach has enabled a system of trust that allows strangers to live together, and created a unique business model that facilitates connection and belonging.