In February 2024, Klarna, the global digital payments system, announced it had replaced the equivalent of 700 customer service agents with an AI assistant. Resolution times dropped from 11 minutes to under two. The company paused hiring, reduced headcount, and its CEO described himself as OpenAI’s “favorite guinea pig.” The technology press responded enthusiastically.
Eighteen months later, Klarna began rehiring staff. Service quality had declined on calls requiring judgment, empathy, or personal accountability. The company maintains this was always a “dual-track” plan rather than a reversal. Both perspectives may be valid; the company overreached, and the limitations became apparent.
This is the familiar Icarus story, but it is only part of the myth. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high, where the sun would melt the wax, and not to fly too low, where the sea spray would weigh down the feathers. The guidance was not to remain grounded, but to find the right altitude. Daedalus followed this advice and landed safely. It was not technology that failed Icarus, but a lack of discipline.
For dealerships, the most encouraging news concerns the roles most often misunderstood during periods of uncertainty. Installation and repair are the least AI-exposed categories in the economy; according to Anthropic’s Labor Market Impacts research, only 18.4% of this work is even theoretically affected by AI, similar to construction and ground maintenance. Technicians performing hands-on work remain largely unaffected. While AI can manage remote diagnostics and first-line chat, it cannot perform physical repairs or assess a customer’s environment.
However, low AI exposure does not guarantee job security. The federal outlook for copier and office-machine technicians is declining, not due to AI, but because of increased connectivity, remote diagnostics, and reduced print volume. In contrast, electricians, who are similarly hands-on and resistant to automation, are experiencing significant job growth, with a 9% projected increase through 2034 and tens of thousands of annual openings. The key factor is not whether a machine can perform the work, but whether demand for the service is increasing or decreasing.
How dealers can leverage AI
This is the opportunity dealers can leverage. The lasting asset is not copier expertise, but the technician’s judgment, which is transferable. Skills such as onsite problem-solving and technical proficiency can be applied to managed IT, network installation, and security—fields the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects to grow much faster than average, with six-figure median wages. Many dealers have already transitioned; those who have not should view their service teams as a valuable workforce ready to address new growth areas.
There is another strategic response to increased connectivity. While fewer service calls may suggest reducing routes and cutting costs, a more effective approach is to reinvest the saved time into consultative, in-person work that AI cannot perform and that helps secure managed-services contracts. AI can handle routine issues, allowing technicians to focus on identifying new opportunities during client visits. This approach increases capacity rather than reducing staff.
The back office presents a different challenge and an opportunity to avoid repeating Klarna’s mistake on a smaller scale. Billing clerks and schedulers are genuinely at risk of automation. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately two million replacement openings annually in these roles, and Gartner anticipates that half of the companies attributing cuts to AI will re-hire for similar positions by 2027. The practical approach is to automate repetitive tasks such as data entry and first-line triage, while advancing employees into exception-handling and customer-facing roles. Dealers who view clerks solely as cost centers risk losing valuable knowledge and relationships, while those who use AI to enhance roles retain both. The underlying pattern is clear: hybrid approaches are more effective than full replacement. AI should handle routine, high-volume tasks, while humans focus on escalation, judgment, and building trust. The real lesson from Klarna is not that AI is ineffective, but that relying exclusively on it, or rejecting it entirely, leads to failure.
This does not diminish the challenges ahead. It demonstrates that the optimal balance is achievable, and successful dealers are those who leverage technology for routine tasks while retaining people for roles that require human expertise. These organizations will remain competitive long after others have faltered.
Ultimately, the myth of Icarus is also a story of Daedalus, who succeeded by exercising discipline and balance. He made it home—and so can you.
