Pinterest has announced the launch of 'Ask Pinterest,' an experimental AI-powered shopping application that allows users to seek product recommendations and inspiration through a conversational interface. This new tool represents a significant step for the visual discovery platform into the burgeoning field of AI-driven commerce, aiming to provide a more interactive and personalised shopping experience.
The 'Ask Pinterest' application is designed to expand upon the visual discovery for which the main Pinterest platform is renowned. Users can ask questions in natural language, similar to interacting with a chatbot, to receive tailored suggestions for products and ideas. For instance, a user could ask for help planning a dinner party or furnishing a room over time, with the app leveraging their saved Pins and Boards for even greater personalisation. This approach allows Pinterest to explore how artificial intelligence can better support complex, multi-step shopping queries that might not suit a traditional keyword search.
This initiative also arrives at a time when AI chatbots are increasingly vying with traditional search engines for consumer attention. Major tech companies such as Google, Meta, and Shopify have already begun integrating AI into their shopping experiences, offering features like price tracking and personalised product discovery. Pinterest's strategy focuses on utilising its proprietary data, known as the 'Taste Graph' – an internal system mapping users to their interests and aesthetics – to train its AI models and power these new products, rather than licensing its data to other AI services.
By launching 'Ask Pinterest' as a standalone experimental app, the company can rigorously test and refine the technology without impacting the user experience of its flagship platform. The insights gained from this experimental application are expected to inform the development of future AI-powered features for the main Pinterest app, gradually integrating advanced conversational capabilities into the core offering.
Accompanying the launch of 'Ask Pinterest,' the company also unveiled several AI-focused updates for marketers. These include an AI assistant in its Ads Manager, currently in beta in the U.S., and a new AI model called Performance+ creative, rolled out globally, which helps advertisers select the most effective ad creatives. Furthermore, Pinterest introduced its Model Context Protocol (MCP) infrastructure layer, designed to enable advertisers to manage and monitor their campaigns using third-party agentic tools in a standardised manner. These developments underscore Pinterest's commitment to leveraging AI across both consumer and business aspects of its platform.
Lee Brown, Pinterest's Chief Business Officer, highlighted the evolving landscape of online discovery, stating that "the future of discovery won’t be driven by keywords alone. It will be shaped by context, taste, and trusted recommendations." He believes Pinterest holds a "unique advantage" in this area due to its established visual discovery and personalisation capabilities. 'Ask Pinterest' is currently available to a limited number of users via the web, accessible on both mobile and desktop devices.
Source: Pinterest