New Delhi, May 18 -- Klarna Group Plc's co-founder and CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, has admitted the fintech giant's aggressive use of artificial intelligence in customer service has backfired. "As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality," he said at Klarna's Stockholm headquarters.

The company had halted hiring for over a year to focus on building AI capabilities, part of a broader cost-cutting effort. However, Siemiatkowski now says the shift needs recalibration. "Really investing in the quality of the human support is the way of the future for us."

In a strategic pivot, Klarna is launching a fresh recruitment drive for customer support ro...