GOING ‘AI FIRST' APPEARS TO BE BACKFIRING ON KLARNA AND DUOLINGO

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Klarna and Duolingo's AI-first strategies are drawing criticism, with Klarna backpedaling to rehire support staff after admitting quality suffered from excessive automation. Duolingo has faced public outrage on TikTok, where users are accusing it of prioritizing efficiency over human-led education. While both companies defend their use of AI as a tool, user sentiment reveals discomfort with automation replacing people.