Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, is leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance customer interaction, having previously adopted AI technology during earnings presentations. The company has now launched an AI-powered customer hotline featuring a virtual version of Siemiatkowski.
This hotline allows users to engage with an interactive AI version of Siemiatkowski, designed to reflect his “real voice, insights, and experiences,” according to an official announcement.
Customers, including both consumers and merchants, can converse with the AI system regarding product features, problems, and suggestions for enhancements. The installation of ‘AI Sebastian’ aims to provide answers about Klarna’s mission, vision, and its developmental history, drawing from the actual experiences of Siemiatkowski.
Following calls to the hotline, transcripts and summaries are produced and evaluated through a large language model (LLM), which feeds into an internal live dashboard. Klarna asserts that its product and engineering teams will promptly analyze the feedback, leading to the assignment of priority tasks. The company claims that issues raised could lead to actual product enhancements by the following day.
The hotline is currently accessible in the United States at +14246675385 and in Sweden at +46852512594. An attempt was made to call the US hotline to assess the experience. After a brief reminder that the call may be recorded, the AI version of Siemiatkowski encouraged the caller to share feedback regarding Klarna. Even when posed with whimsical questions, the AI consistently steered the conversation back toward gathering feedback.
For instance, when questioned about its interactions with the AI version of Darth Vader from Fortnite, the response was:
That’s an interesting question. My focus is entirely on Klarna and gathering feedback to improve our services. I don’t have information or conversations with characters from games like Fortnite. I’m here to hear your thoughts on Klarna. Is there anything else about your experience with Klarna that you’d like to share, or any ideas you have for how we could make things even better?
In addition to Klarna’s initiative, OpenAI has also established a hotline to interact with an AI chatbot at 1-800-CHATGPT.
