Pinterest pilots ‘visual-first’ AI shopping assistant
Pinterest is beta testing what it calls a first-of-its-kind visually focused artificial intelligence tool that aids online shopping and discovery.
The social network is beginning to roll out a solution called Pinterest Assistant in beta to U.S. users 18 and older. Pinterest users can talk to the tool in natural language with prompts such as, "I need new throw pillows that match my living room décor.” Pinterest Assistant will then draw from the user’s saves, boards, collages, as well as content from others with similar tastes, to deliver pillows tailored to their specific design aesthetic.
According to Pinterest, the solution is designed to offer visual, personalized and proactive recommendations for shoppers not sure exactly what they’re looking for, like a best friend suggesting a perfect new look. The company terms the tool a "personal collaborator" that combines discovery inspiration and shopping in one place.
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"People, especially Gen Z, say that the magic of Pinterest is that it 'just gets me,' whether that’s finding the perfect outfit or knowing your distinct style," said Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest. "With Pinterest Assistant, we’re supercharging that magic by leveraging AI to help our users discover and shop like they would with that person who knows them best."
Pinterest Assistant’s visual-first AI functionality uses real-time, conversational descriptors and first-party actions to deliver visual recommendations and shoppable products. This allows context to flow between images, voice and text.
To obtain access to Pinterest Assistant, users can tap the mic icon in the app and say what they are looking for. It will audibly respond with visual results that are personalized to the user.
The release of Pinterest Assistant follows the May 2025 release of a set of AI-based visual search features that allows users to further interact with image pins for women’s fashion content across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., with expansion to more categories and countries over time.
The company is leveraging visual language models (VLMs), a form of generative AI, to let users describe their style ideas with imagery, and has integrated multimodal embedding models to allow them to more easily search using a combination of image and text to find the exact content matching their specific tastes.
Wider availability of Pinterest Assistant is planned in the coming weeks and months. Consumers can apply to be one of the first users on the Pinterest site and advertisers interested in gaining access can contact their account representatives.
