Klarna: Internal AI Now Does The Work Of 853 People

Buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna announced its customer service AI is now shouldering the workload of 853 full-time agents, saving the company $60 million. The move showcases the massive efficiency gains possible with AI, but also highlights the technology's direct impact on corporate headcount.

• Rocky road to recovery: Klarna's success follows a notoriously difficult start. In 2024, the company's aggressive push to automate support led to a customer backlash over the AI's inability to handle nuanced queries, forcing a humbling reversal where CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski admitted customers must always have a human option. The company then began hiring for what it called an "Uber type" support staff.

• The bot is working: Despite the earlier stumble, Klarna now boasts that its AI fields two-thirds of all customer inquiries. It claims satisfaction scores are "on-par" with human agents and that the system has slashed average response times from over 11 minutes to under two.

• Fewer humans, more tech: The efficiency gains coincide with a record-breaking quarter of over $900 million in revenue. Klarna's total headcount has fallen from over 5,500 in 2022 to around 2,900, according to Slashdot reporting. The company attributes the drop to natural attrition, with technology, not new hires, filling the roles of departing staff.

Klarna is providing a clear, and perhaps controversial, playbook for the future of work: leverage AI for massive efficiency, reduce reliance on human labor, and fundamentally reshape the workforce.