Pinterest launches an experimental AI shopping app called ‘Ask Pinterest’
Pinterest has launched 'Ask Pinterest,' an experimental AI-powered shopping app that lets users seek recommendations and inspiration through a conversational interface.
Pinterest on Wednesday announced a new experimental app called “Ask Pinterest” that will allow the company to explore a more conversational approach to shopping and product discovery that could eventually find its way to the main Pinterest app. It also introduced other AI initiatives, including Pinterest Model Context Protocol (MCP), designed for advertisers running campaigns on Pinterest’s platform, and other AI ad tools.
The news comes just ahead of the adtech industry’s annual gathering at Cannes Lions, which is this year mainly focused on how AI can serve the needs of advertisers and marketers.
The “Ask Pinterest” online application gives the company another way to utilize its “Taste Graph” — its internal data mapping people to their interests and aesthetics. It will initially be available in limited access, the company said.
The AI-powered experience is designed to expand the visual discovery experience Pinterest is known for beyond the main app to a conversational, chatbot-like interface where consumers can ask questions using natural language to get more personalized recommendations and inspiration.
It also arrives as AI chatbots are increasingly competing with traditional search engines for consumers’ attention. Google has already put AI to work to help online shoppers find what they need, track prices, and check out. ChatGPT also experimented with agentic shopping , as have Meta , Shopify , and others.
Rather than turning itself into a source of product recommendations that other AI services could leverage through licensing deals, Pinterest has largely focused on using its own data to train AI models and power its AI products.
Plus, by making Ask Pinterest a standalone app, the company has a way to experiment with the technology without disrupting the main Pinterest experience.
The company explains that Ask Pinterest could work for more complex or multi-step queries that wouldn’t fit a traditional Pinterest search. For instance, you could use the app to ask for help planning a dinner party or furnishing a room over time. The idea, says Pinterest, is to test and explore how AI could better support people’s shopping experiences while retaining the user’s context across sessions.
Ask Pinterest can also leverage users’ own saved Pins and Boards to personalize its answers.
In time, these results will help Pinterest when building more AI-powered experiences for the company’s flagship app, the company believes.
Pinterest’s new app was announced alongside the updates aimed at marketers, including the introduction of an AI assistant, still in beta, in its Ads Manager in the U.S.
A new AI model, Performance+ creative, was also introduced globally to help advertisers pick between different ad creatives to find the one that’s likely to perform best each time the ad is shown. And the MCP infrastructure layer that Pinterest announced will allow advertisers to manage and monitor their campaigns using other third-party agentic tools in a standardized way.
In an announcement sharing the news, Pinterest’s Chief Business Officer, Lee Brown, gestured towards the changing nature of web search, remarking that, “the future of discovery won’t be driven by keywords alone. It will be shaped by context, taste, and trusted recommendations” — an area where Pinterest feels it has a “unique advantage,” Brown said.
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Key takeaways
- 'Ask Pinterest' could redefine the online shopping experience by prioritizing conversational and personalized interactions.
- Competition between chatbots and search engines is increasing, creating opportunities for innovations in e-commerce in Brazil.
- The standalone app allows for testing new features without compromising the user experience on the main platform.
Editorial analysis
The introduction of the 'Ask Pinterest' app represents a significant step for the company in exploring more personalized and conversational interactions in e-commerce. For the Brazilian tech sector, this could signal a shift in consumer expectations regarding online shopping experiences, where personalization and natural language interaction become increasingly essential. The use of the 'Taste Graph' to fuel personalized recommendations may inspire local companies to adopt similar approaches, leveraging internal data to enhance user experience.
Moreover, this initiative comes at a time when competition between search platforms and chatbots is intensifying. Brazil, with its growing internet penetration and technology adoption, may see an increase in demand for solutions that integrate artificial intelligence into purchasing processes. This could stimulate startups and tech companies to develop their own AI-based recommendation tools, boosting innovation in the market.
The fact that 'Ask Pinterest' is a standalone app is also a smart strategy, allowing the company to test new features without compromising the user experience on its main platform. This could serve as a model for other companies looking to experiment with new technologies without risking their existing user base. What will be interesting to observe is how user feedback will be incorporated to refine the experience and how this may influence future updates to Pinterest's main app.
Finally, the introduction of AI tools for advertisers, such as the Pinterest Model Context Protocol, could have a significant impact on how advertising campaigns are conducted. This may lead to greater effectiveness in campaigns, especially in a market like Brazil, where segmentation and personalization are crucial for the success of digital marketing strategies.
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