Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the co-founder and CEO of Klarna Group Plc, has acknowledged that the company’s heavy reliance on artificial intelligence for customer service has led to a significant drop in service quality. The fintech giant had earlier halted hiring for over a year as part of its cost-cutting efforts to focus on building AI capabilities. “As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality,” Siemiatkowski said at Klarna’s Stockholm headquarters.
He emphasized the importance of investing in the quality of human support for the company’s future. In a strategic shift, Klarna is now initiating a new recruitment drive for customer service roles. The firm is piloting a model where remote workers can provide service on-demand, similar to an “Uber-type setup.” Currently, this pilot includes two agents, with the potential for expansion.
Siemiatkowski highlighted the significance of offering customers the option to speak to a human from both a brand and company perspective. We also know tons of Klarna users are very passionate about our company and would enjoy working for us,” he said. Despite scaling back its all-in AI push for customer service, Klarna remains committed to integrating AI across its operations.
Hiring human agents
The company is rebuilding its technology infrastructure with AI at its core to drive efficiency. Moreover, Klarna is developing a digital financial assistant to help customers secure better interest rates and insurance deals.
Klarna’s renewed hiring comes after a turbulent period. The company’s valuation plunged from a peak of $45.6 billion in 2021 to $6.7 billion during a 2022 funding round. It has since rebounded, with plans to raise $1 billion at a valuation of over $15 billion.
However, these plans were recently paused due to market volatility. The 2024 announcement that AI was handling the workload of 700 human agents significantly affected the call center industry, causing shares of France-based Teleperformance SE to drop sharply. Despite the new hiring initiative, Klarna’s overall headcount is still expected to shrink through attrition.
In a year’s time,” Siemiatkowski said, “we’ll probably be down to about 2,500 people from 3,000.” He also suggested that downsizing might accelerate as AI technology continues to improve. This move represents Klarna’s effort to recalibrate its balance between human and artificial intelligence-driven customer service, aiming to enhance the quality of service while leveraging technology for efficiency.
Deanna Ritchie is a managing editor at DevX. She has a degree in English Literature. She has written 2000+ articles on getting out of debt and mastering your finances. She has edited over 60,000 articles in her life. She has a passion for helping writers inspire others through their words. Deanna has also been an editor at Entrepreneur Magazine and ReadWrite.
