Klarna CEO says company will use humans to offer VIP customer service

“My spouse taught me one thing,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski informed the gang at London SXSW. He was addressing the headlines in regards to the firm looking to hire human workers after beforehand saying Klarna used artificial intelligence to do work that may equate to 700 staff. “Two issues may be true on the similar time,” he stated.

Siemiatkowski stated it’s true that the corporate regarded to cease hiring human staff a couple of years in the past and rolled out AI brokers which have helped cut back the price of buyer assist and improve the company’s revenue per employee. The corporate had 5,500 staff two years in the past, and that quantity now stands at round 3,000, he stated, including that as the corporate’s wage prices have gone down, Klarna now seeks to reinvest a majority of that cash into worker money and fairness compensation. 

However, he insisted, this doesn’t imply there isn’t a possibility for people to work at his firm. “We expect providing human customer support is at all times going to be a VIP factor,” he stated, evaluating it to how individuals pay extra for clothes stitched by hand somewhat than machines. “So we predict that two issues may be achieved on the similar time. We are able to use AI to mechanically take away boring jobs, issues which might be handbook work, however we’re additionally going to vow our clients to have a human connection.” 

He spoke about how the corporate plans to steadiness staff and AI staff. Siemiatkowski stated that proper now, engineering positions on the firm haven’t shrunk as a lot as these in different departments, however he notes that this might shift. 

“What I’m seeing internally is a brand new rise of businesspeople who’re coding themselves,” he stated, including that the problem many engineers have lately is that they aren’t enterprise savvy. “I feel that class of individuals will change into much more useful going ahead,” Siemiatkowski continued, particularly as they will use AI and put their enterprise understanding to good use. 

He himself is utilizing ChatGPT to assist him study to code and assist him perceive extra of the information facet of Klarna. He stated doing this has helped Klarna change into a greater firm. Earlier than, he thought he would by no means catch up in studying what was wanted to take a extra current position in database conversations on the firm. 

“I’ll take a Slack thread, I’ll throw it in ChatGPT and say, ‘This is smart, proper?’” he stated, including that he makes use of ChatGPT like a non-public tutor.

However he’s additionally conscious that AI isn’t nearly staff. He spoke of the rise in scams and the way it impacts high-trust societies like his native Sweden. The Financial Times recently reported on the rise of fintech scams, declaring, for instance, how prone residents in Singapore may be to them as a result of they’re extra naturally trusting of varied establishments.

“And AI is clearly accelerating this,” Siemiatkowski stated.

Siemiatkowski additionally as soon as once more addressed why the corporate stopped utilizing Salesforce and Workday, saying it was as a result of Klarna needed to consolidate its knowledge in a means that may be simpler to feed into AI. He stated, for instance, if Klarna needed to collect details about one among its purchasers, it must undergo the Google Suite, Slack, Workday, Salesforce, and so forth. 

“We understand that the one means ahead goes to be to consolidate [data],” he stated, including that the corporate stopped utilizing round 1,200 small software program companies. 

About its pending IPO? He indicated that Klarna may quickly transfer forward with it however was in any other case noncommittal. “I can say that I’m completely happy there’s much less turbulence available in the market,” he stated with a smile.

And if he had a magic wand and will change one factor? He would make the U.Okay. a part of the EU once more. The group then erupted into applause.