Klarna Promises Customers ‘Human Connection’ Amid AI Adoption

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski reportedly said Wednesday (June 4) that while Klarna continues to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools, it will also offer customers “a human connection.”

Siemiatkowski said this while speaking at SXSW London and addressing headlines about Klarna hiring human workers after saying earlier that it was replacing workers with AI, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.

“We can use AI to automatically take away boring jobs, things that are manual work, but we are also going to promise our customers to have a human connection,” Siemiatkowski said, per the report.

Siemiatkowski said that Klarna’s AI agents have helped lower the cost of customer support and that the company has reduced its workforce from 5,500 to 3,000 over the past two years, according to the report.

He added that there have been fewer reductions in engineering positions than in other roles, but that the trend could change because businesspeople, including himself, are learning to code. In his case, he’s doing so with the help of ChatGPT, per the report.

Siemiatkowski also addressed the implications of AI in a Friday (May 30) thread on X.

In two posts in the thread, he said that amid Klarna’s adoption of AI, the company launched an “always human” initiative.

“This means more of our employees have even more time to help and interact with our customers … solving the more difficult and complex challenges, errands, complaints and topics. And provide a more human touch support to them,” Siemiatkowski wrote in the posts.

He added that this also allowed Klarna to reduce its dependence on outsourcing.

In a reply to a question asking about departments in which Klarna hires more due to AI, Siemiatkowski said: “Sales and ‘always human’, everything customer facing.”

It was reported May 8 that Klarna was rethinking some of its AI-centered cost-cutting and undertaking a hiring effort to make sure customers always have the option of talking to a human customer service rep.

“From a brand perspective, a company perspective, I just think it’s so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will always be a human if you want,” Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg at the time.