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.
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 stand-alone 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 multistep 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.
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.
In an announcement sharing the news, Pinterest’s chief business officer, Lee Brown, gestured toward 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.
Ask Pinterest is currently available to a limited number of people via the web, both mobile and desktop, the company says.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Don’t miss out . The startup community will gather to answer a pivotal question: How do you build sustainably in the AI era?
Apple shares ‘shocking evidence’ against former employee accused of stealing company data for OpenAI
MapQuest’s app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario
Musk’s faster path to more gas turbines comes with pollution problem
Hugging Face is selling a cute $399 open source duck robot, Microduck
Viral AI startup Instinct has raised $350M at a $2.5B valuation
