ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ENTERPRISE PROFITABILITY: THE AUTOMATION EFFECT AND ITS LIMITS

The article examines the impact of artificial intelligence adoption on enterprise profitability. Using the case of the Swedish fintech company Klarna, it is shown that AI-based automation of customer service can deliver a measurable and rapid profit effect — a 73% increase in revenue per employee and a projected $40 million profit improvement in the first year of deployment — yet a year later the company partially reversed full automation due to declining service quality. Using the case of Uzbekistan's banking sector, including TBC Uzbekistan's experience and the national Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy through 2030, it is shown that a similar effect is available to local financial institutions, but requires a hybrid rather than a fully automated deployment model. It is argued that AI's effect on profitability operates mainly through reducing operating costs — a channel analogous to financial leverage, ESG financing and marketplace commissions — and must be assessed against the risk of losing quality and revenue, not merely cost savings.