Klarna, the AI powered global payments network and shopping assistant, is on a mission to transform the way millions of people around the world shop and pay. When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, Klarna Co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski immediately saw the potential. Klarna became the first European company and the first fintech firm globally to launch a ChatGPT plugin—which was just the beginning. 

“We push everyone to test, test, test and explore,” said Siemiatkowski. “As Klarna continues to discover applications for OpenAI’s tech, there’s the potential to take the business to new heights. We’re aimed at achieving a new level of employee empowerment, enhancing both our team’s performance and the customer experience.”

Anyone who’s shopped online knows that it can be frustrating and exhausting. If you’re shopping for sneakers, for example, you have to search through thousands of similar products to find one with the characteristics you want. Then you need to compare prices across a vast array of online stores. 

Instead, imagine being able to ask an AI tool to give you sneaker recommendations for under $150—and being able to refine your search through a conversational interface. This is the vision behind Klarna’s shopping plugin for ChatGPT. When a ChatGPT user has the GPT installed, a customer can have a conversation about an item they’re looking for and get suggestions from ChatGPT, with product links pointing to Klarna’s search & compare tool for price comparison. 

“The capabilities of AI technology are not only addressing existing challenges, but also rapidly advancing how we can enhance the consumer experience for the near future,” said Martin Elwin, Senior Director of Engineering at Klarna.

Klarna’s AI assistant, powered by OpenAI, is designed to enhance the shopping and payments experience for Klarna’s 150 million consumers worldwide, capable of managing a range of tasks from multilingual customer service to managing refunds and returns, and fostering healthy financial habits. Within the first month of being live: 

• The AI assistant has had 2.3 million conversations, two-thirds of Klarna’s customer service chats
• It is doing the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents
• It is on par with human agents in regard to customer satisfaction score
• It is more accurate in errand resolution, leading to a 25% drop in repeat inquiries
• Customers now resolve their errands in less than 2 mins compared to 11 mins previously
• It’s available in 23 markets, 24/7 and communicates in more than 35 languages
• It’s estimated to drive a $40 million USD in profit improvement to Klarna in 2024
  

Klarna’s adoption of AI hasn’t been limited to its products—it extends deep into the organization as well. Klarna has made ChatGPT Enterprise available to all its employees around the globe, enabling access to the power of OpenAI in the familiar and easy-to-use ChatGPT interface, with protected company data. 

• 75% of Klarna’s employees are using generative AI tools powered by OpenAI
• Klarna is seeing a wide variety of use-cases, from building software to streamlining customer service

“This AI breakthrough in customer interaction means superior experiences for our customers at better prices, more interesting challenges for our employees, and better returns for our investors.” added Siemiatkowski. “We are incredibly excited about this launch, but it also underscores the profound impact on society that AI will have. We want to reemphasize and encourage society and politicians to consider this carefully and believe a considerate, informed and steady stewardship will be critical to navigate through this transformation of our societies.”