Pinterest on Wednesday announced a new experimental app called “Ask Pinterest.” This will allow the company to explore a more conversational approach to shopping and product discovery, which could eventually be applied to the main Pinterest app. Other AI initiatives were also introduced, including Pinterest Model Context Protocol (MCP) and other AI advertising tools designed for advertisers running campaigns on Pinterest’s platform.
The news was announced just ahead of the ad tech industry’s annual gathering at Cannes Lions. This year, the focus is primarily on how AI can meet the needs of advertisers and marketers.
The “Ask Pinterest” online application gives the company another way to tap into its “taste graph,” or internal data that maps people to their interests and aesthetics. The company says it will initially be available with limited access.
The AI-powered experience is designed to extend the visual discovery experience Pinterest is known for beyond the main app into a conversational, chatbot-like interface where consumers can ask questions using natural language to receive more personalized recommendations and inspiration.
It also comes as AI chatbots increasingly compete with traditional search engines for consumers’ attention. Google is already using AI to help online shoppers find what they need, track prices, and checkout. ChatGPT also experimented with agent shopping, similar to Meta, Shopify, and others.
Pinterest is primarily focused on using its data to train AI models and power its AI products, rather than being a source of product recommendations that other AI services can leverage through licensing agreements.
Additionally, by making Ask Pinterest a standalone app, the company has a way to experiment with technology without disrupting the main Pinterest experience.
The company explains that Ask Pinterest can also work with more complex or multi-step queries that don’t fit into traditional Pinterest searches. For example, you can use the app to ask for help planning a dinner party or furnishing your room long-term. Pinterest says the idea is to test and explore how AI can better support people’s shopping experiences while retaining user context between sessions.
Ask Pinterest also lets you personalize your answers by leveraging your own saved Pins and boards.
Over time, the company believes these results will help Pinterest build more AI-powered experiences for its flagship app.
Pinterest’s new app was announced at the same time as an update for marketers, including the introduction of an AI assistant, still in beta, to Ads Manager in the US.
A new AI model, Performance+ Creative, is also being introduced globally, allowing advertisers to choose from a variety of ad creatives to find the one that is likely to perform best every time an ad is shown. And with the MCP infrastructure layer announced by Pinterest, advertisers will be able to use other third-party agent tools in a standardized way to manage and monitor their campaigns.
In an announcement sharing the news, Lee Brown, Pinterest’s chief business officer, cited the changing nature of web search, saying, “The future of discovery won’t be determined solely by keywords. It will be shaped by context, preferences, and trusted recommendations,” an area where Pinterest feels it has “unique advantages,” Brown said.
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