S8 E3: Podcast LIVE at Top Drawer - Getting started in AI with Hannah Adams

This week’s episode is split into two parts.

The first was recorded live at Top Drawer back in January, where we sat down with Hannah Adams to talk about AI and what it really means for buyers and brands.

The second dives into Hannah’s career journey from buyer to business transformation specialist and what that evolution teaches us about modern retail careers.

Part One: Live from Top Drawer - AI in Retail

Recording live brought such energy to this conversation. We wanted to strip AI back to what actually matters in day-to-day retail roles.

Hannah shares her experience at ASOS, where she worked on implementing Microsoft Copilot, and breaks down how tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can support buyers in practical ways.

We cover real use cases, competitor analysis, trend research, product development ideas, supplier emails, negotiation prep and contract reviews as well as the importance of strong prompting and protecting sensitive business data.

The key message? AI is an assistant, not a replacement. Your judgement and instinct still matter most- AI simply helps you move faster and think wider.

Part Two: Hannah’s Career Pivot

Hannah started her career at Evans within Arcadia Group before moving into buying roles at Topman during the High Street’s early 2000s peak.

She shares the reality of international supplier travel- from Taiwan to Mauritius and the buzz of developing product and trading weekly sales.

Her move into business transformation was driven by both lifestyle considerations and curiosity. She explains how transformation roles act as the bridge between technical teams and commercial teams, helping retailers adopt new systems in ways that genuinely work for buyers and merchandisers.

Her journey is a brilliant example of how transferable buying skills really are — negotiation, stakeholder management and commercial thinking open far more doors than many realise.

We finish by reflecting on what we all still love about buying: the thrill of sales, backing your instinct, building supplier relationships and seeing product come to life.

Three Takeaways

1) AI won’t replace buyers - but buyers who use AI well will have an advantage.

2) Buying skills are incredibly transferable. Retail careers don’t have to be linear to be successful.

3) Whether it’s new technology or a new role, growth comes from experimenting, staying curious and backing yourself.

Let us know what resonates most and whether you’ve started exploring AI in your own role yet.