Klarna says its AI assistant has successfully replaced 700 people

This revelation comes around a year after the company faced criticism for laying off approximately the same number of staff members.

Recently, Klarna, the Swedish financial technology company, announced a significant milestone in its automation efforts. It revealed that its Artificial Intelligence assistant has effectively taken over the workload equivalent to 700 full-time employees.

This revelation comes around a year after the company faced criticism for laying off approximately the same number of staff members.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Klarna boasted about the efficiency of its Artificial Intelligence assistant, claiming that it can perform tasks equivalent to those of 700 human agents, according to a report by The Fast Company. However, this assertion has prompted questions, particularly among those who recall the mass layoffs that occurred in mid-2022, which affected roughly 10 per cent of the company's workforce.

At the time of the layoffs, Klarna's CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, attributed the decision to economic uncertainties, inflation concerns, and the possibility of a looming recession.

However, his handling of the situation drew criticism, notably when he publicly shared a spreadsheet on LinkedIn containing the names of many of the laid-off employees.

When asked by Fast Company about the methodology behind the calculation of the Artificial Intelligence assistant's productivity in human terms, Klarna clarified that this figure was unrelated to the previous workforce reductions.

According to a spokesperson, the company's customer service operations are supported by several large third-party entities with a combined workforce exceeding 650,000 employees.
 
Additionally, Klarna emphasized that customers still have the option to interact with human agents if they prefer.

"This is in no way connected to the workforce reductions in May 2022, and making that conclusion would be incorrect," the statement from Klarna emphasized. "We chose to share the figure of 700 to indicate the more long-term consequences of AI technology, where we believe it is important to be transparent in order to create an understanding in society."

While the use of chatbots and similar Artificial Intelligence tools for customer service tasks is not new, advancements in artificial intelligence are expected to make these systems even more versatile in the future.

Klarna's announcement underscores the ongoing transformation in the way businesses handle customer interactions, prompting discussions about the broader implications of automation and Artificial Intelligence on employment and society as a whole.