Anshu Bhardwaj slides into Chief AI Transformation & Simplification Officer role at PayPal

Anshu Bhardwaj is stepping into a new role at PayPal as Chief AI Transformation & Simplification Officer. 

She has been with the payments giant for almost two years and previously served as SVP, Engineering: Checkout, Wallets and Global Products.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: "This comes at a big moment for PayPal. We're reorganising to move faster, make clearer decisions, and focus on what drives durable growth. In this new role, I will focus on how we use AI to transform how we operate and what we deliver, allowing teams to move faster without unnecessary complexity. There's a lot of work ahead, and I'm energised by what we're building and the team coming together to make it happen."

Debenhams Group

Debenhams Group, home to PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN, Karen Millen and Debenhams, recently partnered with PayPal on an AI driven shopping experience, becoming the first retailer in the UK to enable customers to discover, receive personalised recommendations and check out entirely within the PayPal app.

PayPal is currently testing the AI assistant with select US customers, where it has also been integrated with AI tools such as Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, with a broader US and UK launch planned later this year.

Shoppers can use an AI assistant within its platform to ask for product suggestions, explore relevant items and browse curated selections from brands including Karen Millen, boohoo and boohooMAN. Customers can then complete their purchase directly within the chat experience, with PayPal automatically using saved account details for home delivery.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.