Debenhams implements agentic AI assistant from PayPal

British retailer Debenhams Group has become the first UK retailer to implement PayPal’s agentic AI assistant.

Shoppers can now use the tool within PayPal to ask for product suggestions, explore relevant items, and browse curated selections from Debenhams-owned brands like Karen Millen, boohoo and boohooMAN.

Customers subsequently complete their purchase directly within the chat, with PayPal automatically using saved account details for home delivery.

The retailer said that unlike traditional search, the agentic AI model understands shopper profiles, asks follow-up questions, and acts on their behalf by guiding customers to relevant product pages and tailoring recommendations.

The experience, which has been co-developed by the two companies, is currently available to US shoppers.

The assistant has also been integrated with AI tools such as Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, with plans to implement the technology across additional Debenhams Group brands over time.

PayPal is currently testing the AI assistant with select US customers, with a broader US and UK launch planned later this year.

The move forms part of Debenhams Group’s wider AI strategy, which includes a recent partnership with Peak AI to improve forecasting across sales, stock and pricing, as well as the creation of the Debenhams Group AI Skills Academy to equip employees with practical, applied AI capabilities.

“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,” said Dan Finley, chief executive, Debenhams Group. “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.

“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.”

Sixteen per cent of Debenhams Group’s sales already processed through PayPal, which has a customer base of millions of shoppers worldwide.

The companies said that the partnership has the potential to expand the Group’s customer reach while delivering a “faster, more seamless” shopping experience across its brands.

“With agentic commerce, shopping becomes a conversation, not a search,” said Mike Edmonds, vice president of agentic commerce, 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.”

Debenhams Group dates back to 1778 when William Clark, a retail pioneer of the time, opened the UK’s first department store.

In 2026, the Group is home to Debenhams, which was relaunched in 2021 as an online department store, and several online fashion retailers, including boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, boohooMAN, and Karen Millen.