How Klarna Uses AI to Streamline Operations and Empower Its Workforce

About a month ago, Klarna released a press statement announcing that its AI technology can now perform the duties of 700 workers. This statement was further elaborated in a CBS interview with its CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who provided deeper insights beyond the initial announcement about job reductions.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/klarna-ceo-ai-chatbot-replacing-workers-sebastian-siemiatkowski/

In the interview, several key points were highlighted. 

1. The impact of AI on jobs, especially in customer service, is not a future speculation but a present reality. Previously, Klarna required 3000 outsourced vendors, but with the AI implementation, this number has been reduced to just over 2000. This approximates to 33% reduction in outsourced vendors.
2. The chatbot manages approximately 66% of customer inquiries. It wasn't explicitly articulated in the article but one can deduce that the AI predominantly deals with less complex, quicker transactions. Moreover, not all customer interactions managed by the chatbot were resolved without human intervention.
3. The areas where the AI has proven successful include customer satisfaction scores, first-contact resolution, and the frequency and severity of errors.
4. One notable quote from the interview emphasizes the inefficiency in large organizations where too much time is spent on non-value-adding activities. With AI, the less productive tasks can be eliminated, allowing employees to focus on using their creativity to deliver real value to customers, rather than spending time on tasks like crafting elaborate presentations for the CEO. This resonated with me because I know we do way too much of this type of work!
5. Klarna’s goal is to increase investment per employee and raise the compensation of existing staff as the company's revenue grows.

I appreciate Klarna's approach, recognizing that the introduction of a single AI product led to a substantial reduction in operating expenses. Instead of allowing all these savings to improve the bottom line alone, Klarna plans to invest a portion back into its employees. This investment aims to enhance their skills, making them more valuable and, consequently, better compensated.

This strategy serves as an excellent model for other companies because the integration of AI across various work aspects is inevitable. Company leaders should proactively discuss how they will implement these technologies. It's natural for employees to feel anxious about how AI might affect their daily tasks. Therefore, providing clear plans and communicating how these changes will benefit both the company and the employees can help alleviate these concerns.

Next week, I will delve deeper into what I believe WFM employees should do to prepare for AI's impact on WFM and how to leverage it as an opportunity.