Debenhams partners with PayPal on AI shopping assistance

Debenhams Group is accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) through a new partnership with PayPal. The payment provider will be working with Debenhams on implementing an AI-powered shopping assistant that will allow customers to receive personalised recommendations and check out all through PayPal’s app.

Through the partnership, shoppers can use the assistant to request product suggestions and explore relevant items, before receiving selections from Debenhams brands like Karen Miller and Boohoo. They will then be able to complete their purchase through PayPal.

The platform, together with Debenhams which is the first UK retailer to partner with PayPal on this programme, is currently trialling the AI feature with US customers before a broader US and UK rollout planned later this year. Its specific use of agentic AI intends to better understand a shopper’s profile, creating more accurate recommendations based on taste and budget.

In a statement, VP of agentic commerce at PayPal, Mike Edmonds, said: “With agentic commerce, shopping becomes a conversation, not a search. By embedding AI-powered discovery and checkout directly into the PayPal app, we’re helping customers move seamlessly from inspiration to purchase, while giving retailers like Debenhams Group a powerful new way to engage shoppers at scale. It’s exciting to collaborate with an established UK retail group to bring this technology to market."