Buy now, pay later fintech Klarna made headlines recently when it announced that its OpenAI chatbot integration for customer service is doing the work of 700 live agents.
Launched in January 2024, the company reported that during that period the chatbot had 2.3 million conversations, handling two-thirds of the company’s customer service queries.
Klarna also said its AI bot is as good as humans when it comes to customer satisfaction scores, and it is more accurate in errand resolution, leading to a 25% drop in repeat inquiries.
Since the advent of AI at Klarna, customers now resolve their queries in less than two minutes – compared to 11 minutes previously – and the company expects it to contribute to a $40m profit improvement this year.
While most tech workers aren’t likely to be too worried about that particular implementation of AI, Klarna isn’t the only company to have syphoned off workers recently, in favour of generative AI tools.
Dukaan, an ecommerce platform that enables merchants to set up a shopfront using a smartphone, replaced 90% of its customer service staff in July of 2023.
CEO Suumit Shah revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he had replaced the support team with an AI chatbot, and that AI tools reduced customer wait time, as well as slashing support costs by 85%.
Duolingo, the language learning app, announced in January that it planned to get rid of 10% of its contractors, using AI to translate content instead.
And as far back as 2020, MSN made more than 50 journalists redundant, replacing them with AI software.
Is your job safe from AI?
So when it comes to your job, should you be worried by AI? Probably not – yet, at least. While The World Economic Forum (WEF) has estimated that AI will replace around 85 million jobs by 2025, it also says it will create 97 million new roles.
That leaves a gap where many workers will need to upskill. A report from Accenture estimates that 40% of all working hours could be impacted by LLMs, because language tasks account for 62% of the total time people work.
While the WEF says jobs such as clerical or secretarial roles are likely to decline, it predicts a 40% jump in the number of AI and machine learning specialists by 2027, a 30-35% rise in demand for roles in data analysis and big data specialists, and a 31% increase in demand for information security analysts.
So, if you are looking for a new tech role, then they’re out there. The UKTN Job Board is a great place to start your search, with opportunities available all across the country, like the three below.
Engineering manager – consumer, Coinbase, remote
Coinbase is hiring an engineering manager – consumer, to build and manage full-stack engineering teams, guide the development of features, services, and infrastructure across both web and mobile and collaborate with engineers, designers, product managers, and senior leadership to translate the company’s vision into a tangible roadmap on a quarterly basis.
You’ll break down complex projects into smaller pieces and lead the iterative design and implementation process, as well as contribute to, and take ownership of, processes that drive engineering quality and meet engineering SLAs. You’ll need at least seven years of experience in software engineering to apply.
Apply for this role now.
IT manager, AutoRek, Glasgow
Autorek’s mission is to set the new standard in financial data automation, with a platform that simplifies highly complex data, automates critical business processes, and manages regulatory change. Due to its growth, it is now seeking an experienced, hands-on technical IT manager to join and lead the internal IT team. You will join as the leader of this vital team, bringing your years of experience and advanced technical ability to bear.
The role is varied and challenging and represents an exciting opportunity to join our ambitious and innovative team. A minimum of three years’ experience in Azure, plus a minimum of two years’ experience managing or mentoring a small IT team and a minimum of five years’ experience in an IT/EUC support role is required.
Find all the criteria here.
Senior network administrator, Jisc, London
Jisc is the UK digital, data and technology agency focused on tertiary education, research, and innovation. A not-for-profit, this is an organisation with a big ambition to improve lives through education and research by providing hardware, software, and networking solutions. As the senior network administrator, you’ll protect UK education and research against a wide range of cybersecurity threats, supporting members and customers in improving their digital resilience.
You will be responsible for the maintenance and development of platforms and applications supporting the work of the cybersecurity function, including patching and monitoring. You will also assist in the monitoring and auditing of all systems to ensure all systems are performing and optimised to ensure that services are meeting the needs of the business.
Get more details here.
Accelerate the search for your next job in tech today on the UKTN Job Board
This article is part of a paid partnership with careers marketplace Jobbio to share the most exciting UK tech jobs with UKTN readers.
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