Klarna CEO to Prioritize Human Customer Service for VIP Clients Amid AI Integration
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski addressed the company’s evolving approach to customer service at London SXSW, clarifying headlines about Klarna’s plans to hire human workers. This comes after previous statements about leveraging artificial intelligence to replace the work of approximately 700 employees. Siemiatkowski emphasized that both strategies—AI implementation and human interaction—can coexist within the company’s framework.
Siemiatkowski explained that Klarna initially reduced human hiring, deploying AI agents to cut customer support costs and boost revenue per employee. Over the past two years, Klarna’s workforce has decreased from 5,500 to around 3,000. The company aims to reinvest the savings from reduced salary expenses into employee compensation, including cash and equity.
Despite the AI push, Siemiatkowski stressed the importance of human customer service, particularly for VIP clients. He likened it to the premium placed on hand-stitched clothing versus machine-made items. “We think offering human customer service is always going to be a VIP thing,” he stated. Klarna plans to use AI to automate routine tasks while ensuring customers have access to human connections for specialized support.
The company is also considering how to balance its workforce with AI capabilities across different departments. While engineering roles have been less affected than others, Siemiatkowski anticipates a shift. He highlighted the increasing value of “businesspeople who are coding themselves,” noting that their ability to combine business acumen with AI proficiency will be highly sought after.
Siemiatkowski personally uses ChatGPT to learn coding and enhance his understanding of Klarna’s data infrastructure. He finds it beneficial for comprehending complex data discussions. “I’ll take a Slack thread, I’ll throw it in ChatGPT and say, ‘This makes sense, right?’” he explained, describing ChatGPT as a private tutor.
Siemiatkowski also addressed the rise in scams facilitated by AI, impacting high-trust societies like Sweden. He acknowledged the Financial Times’ recent report on fintech scams and the vulnerability of trusting populations to these schemes, emphasizing AI’s role in accelerating these threats.
Siemiatkowski reiterated Klarna’s decision to move away from Salesforce and Workday, aiming to consolidate data for AI integration. He described the challenge of gathering client information from disparate systems like Google Suite, Slack, Workday, and Salesforce. Consolidating data by reducing reliance on approximately 1,200 smaller software services is the key forward.
Regarding Klarna’s potential IPO, Siemiatkowski remained cautious but optimistic. “I can say that I’m happy there’s less turbulence in the market,” he said. On a lighter note, when asked what he would change with a magic wand, he expressed his desire for the U.K. to rejoin the EU, eliciting applause from the audience.
