Debenhams customers will be able to discover products, receive personalised recommendations and check-out, entirely within PayPal’s app.
In a UK first retail partnership, the system has been co-developed by the Manchester group and PayPal.
The AI assistant is currently being tested with selected US customers, with a wider US and UK launch planned later this year.
Through the tech, shoppers can use an AI assistant within the app to ask for product suggestions, explore items and browse curated selections from Debenhams’ brands, including Karen Millen and boohoo. Purchasing and delivery can also be carried out directly within the chat experience.
“With agentic commerce, shopping becomes a conversation, not a search,” explained Mike Edmonds, VP of Agentic Commerce at PayPal.
“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.”
READ MORE – Debenhams Group looks to AI for Christmas cheer
The move is part of a wider AI strategy within Debenhams as it evolves into. a “tech driven ecommerce group.” 16% of the group’s sales are already processed through PayPal.
“At Debenhams Group, our goal is to help customers discover and be inspired by new products and brands, while making shopping as easy and enjoyable as possible. This kind of innovation has the potential to fundamentally transform online retail; in a way we haven’t seen since the shift to mobile shopping,” added Dan Finley, CEO of Debenhams Group.
“We’re proud to be the first UK retailer to partner with PayPal on this experience, bringing a faster, more intuitive way to shop to customers across our brands.”
Unlike traditional search, the agentic AI assistant understands a shopper’s profile, asks follow-up questions and acts on their behalf – guiding customers to relevant product pages and tailoring recommendations to suit their taste and budget.
Currently only available to US shoppers, it has been integrated with AI tools such as Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, and will roll out across additional Debenhams Group brands over time.
