I Called Klarna's New AI Hotline to Talk to the Company's 'CEO' — Here's What Happened Klarna's CEO voice-cloned himself and had the clone take customer calls over an AI-powered hotline.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has used an AI clone of himself to deliver earnings reports — twice, once in December 2024 and again in May 2025. Now, the CEO is tapping into AI cloning technology for another purpose: to interact with customers through an AI-powered phone line.

On Thursday, Klarna debuted a hotline for customers to provide feedback directly to an AI voice clone of Siemiatkowski. The clone was trained on the CEO's "real voice and insights," Klarna stated in a LinkedIn post about the launch.

Through the hotline, anyone can call to ask questions, share feedback, and interact with the voice clone of Siemiatkowski. The AI clone is trained to answer questions about Klarna's values, mission, and founding story.

^{Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for SXSW London}

The conversations are transcribed using AI; an automatically generated transcript and summary are sent to Klarna's product and engineering teams, per The Verge. Klarna promptly processes customer feedback, with teams reviewing actionable insights and assigning priority tasks. The company states that it aims to resolve issues raised during a call by the following day.

Related: AI Cloning Hoax Can Copy Your Voice in 3 Seconds—and It's Emptying Bank Accounts. Here's How to Protect Yourself.

Klarna provided two numbers to call: +14246675385 for customers in the U.S. and +46852512594 for those in Sweden.

The company noted that calls were free from their side, but standard rates or charges could apply from individual phone network providers.

What Happened When I Called Klarna's New AI Hotline

I wanted to test out Klarna's AI hotline in the U.S. to see if it lived up to the promised experience. I called the number, and at first, there was a brief message informing me that the call would be recorded.

"I assume you have some feedback about Klarna for me," Siemiatkowski's voice clone prompted. "Could you tell me about your latest experience using Klarna?"

When I asked why I should use Klarna, the voice clone walked me through different payment options: Pay Now, which requires immediate payment; Pay Later, which requires payment within 30 days; and Pay in 4, which breaks up a payment into four installments.

The voice was uncannily similar to Siemiatkowski's, but at times, the responses sounded rehearsed, as though the voice was reading from documentation.

Related: Klarna Introduces a Debit Card, Allowing Users to 'Buy Now, Pay Later' on the Spot

When I asked, "What does it take to become CEO of Klarna?" the AI responded, "That's a great question. Becoming CEO of Klarna is about empowering people, being transparent, and putting the customer at the center of everything you do."

I tried asking it other questions, but the AI was focused on getting me to give it feedback. For example, when I asked a fun question: "What does Klarna think about autonomous vehicles?" the AI responded, "That's an interesting question, but my focus is on gathering feedback."

I got a more pointed response when I asked: "What do you think about Affirm?"

Affirm is one of Klarna's main competitors, with each company having about 20% of the buy now, pay later market share in the U.S.

The voice clone neatly sidestepped the question with the response: "I appreciate the question, but I am here to discuss feedback. I don't discuss other companies and their offerings."

Related: 'A Game Changer': Klarna Becomes Walmart's Exclusive Buy-Now-Pay-Later Provider

Overall, the hotline appears to be an intuitive way to give feedback, and it was a far better experience than filling out a survey or sending an email. Having the voice of the CEO on the other end was an empowering feeling, like my questions were going straight to the top.

Klarna isn't the only company with a hotline to talk to an AI chatbot. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has one too, at 1-800-CHATGPT.