Google Cloud and Klarna have announced a strategic partnership that will include AI models after Klarna decided to redeploy its customer service staff.
The cloud computing service suite and flexible payment provider have entered an AI-first partnership, aiming to improve Klarna’s customer experience with Google Cloud’s customer-centric products.
Klarna is already reporting dramatic growth with early AI pilot testing, with a 50% increase in customer orders and a 15% increase in average time on the app.
David Sandström, Chief Marketing Officer at Klarna, claimed that combining Google's AI models with Klarna's consumer insights was allowing the buy-now pay-later specialist to "craft experiences that feel smarter and more personal.
Early pilots already show the potential: AI-driven creative concepts, from dynamic digital 'lookbooks' to hyper-personalized product campaigns, boosted time spent in our app by 15% and increased orders by 50%.
Interestingly, the collaboration follows Klarna's recent decision to bolster its customer service headcount by redeploying staff from other areas of the business.
At the time, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, seemingly backtracked on the staunch pro-AI in customer service views he had previously espoused, admitting that the human touch was more critical in customer service than he had first thought.
While this new strategy appears to be flip-flopping back to championing AI, the company has confirmed that the partnership will initially focus on empowering Klarna’s current teams to transform the consumer experience.
Via the Klarna App, the partnership will be concentrating on two specific areas for its customers (outlined below), which are designed to deliver a richer, more personalized shopping experiences and engaging content.
Creative Velocity
As part of the partnership, Klarna is leveraging Google’s latest generative media models, including Veo 2 and Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana).
These models are being used to create dynamic digital “lookbooks", an automatically generated shopping gallery personalized for consumers on the Klarna app.
These "lookbooks" tailor shopping interests to each customer, designed to adapt to trends and individuals' clothing interests.
