Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has announced plans to strengthen its human customer service team after replacing 700 workers with artificial intelligence. This move comes after the company's valuation dropped to $6.7 billion, a significant fall from its peak of $45.6 billion in 2021.
The AI Shift and Its Consequences
The "buy now, pay later" company initially turned to AI to cut costs, but this decision led to lower quality customer service. Recognizing the issue, Siemiatkowski is now reversing course, vowing to hire more humans to improve service quality.
A New Hiring Pilot
At Klarna’s Stockholm headquarters, Siemiatkowski revealed a new hiring pilot where customer service workers will operate in an "Uber type of setup". This model aims to replace the few thousand outsourced human agents with remote workers. So far, only two employees from this pilot have begun work.
The Importance of Human Touch
"I just think it’s so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will be always a human if you want," said Siemiatkowski. He admitted that the overemphasis on cost-cutting led to a decline in service quality, stating, "Really investing in the quality of the human support is the way of the future for us."
AI Still in the Picture
Despite the shift back to human agents, Klarna will continue to use AI to improve efficiency in its software. The company also plans to recruit from rural areas, students, and passionate Klarna users to fill the new roles.
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