Pinterest used its latest Pinterest Presents event to sharpen its pitch as a full-funnel performance platform, not just an inspiration board. The headline announcement is Visual Search Ads, which will let brands place sponsored products directly in search results and Pin close-ups, with broader availability expected in the coming weeks.
CEO Bill Ready framed the update around user intent. People come to Pinterest with “clear intent” but before they have decided what to buy. “That is the magic moment for a marketer to meet a potential customer,” he said.
What’s new for advertisers
Several launches are rolling out together:
- Visual Search Ads: sponsored product placements in search results and Pin close-ups, now in beta in markets around the world. Chloe Wix, Pinterest’s vice president of go-to-market, said the format requires “no net new creative.”
- Pinterest Performance+ upgrades: the AI-powered ad suite is adding manual A/B testing, the ability to prioritize specific products for seasonal moments, and integrations to promote app installs.
- Restyle: a camera feature, launching in beta in the U.S. and Canada, that lets users photograph a room and apply an aesthetic such as bohemian or industrial, then shop related products.
Why the timing matters
Pinterest is leaning into its high-intent user base. The platform reports 640 million monthly users, more than half of them Gen Z, and more than 80 billion searches per month. Crucially for advertisers, 96% of those searches are unbranded, which executives see as open ground for brands to show up before a consumer has settled on a product or retailer.
Lee Brown, Pinterest’s chief business officer, said paid clicks to advertisers have grown 5X over the past three years. That shift supports the company’s argument that it can now drive lower-funnel results, not just awareness.
Creator and CTV extensions
Pinterest is also expanding beyond standard feed ads. Creators have been able to link Amazon storefronts since June, keeping affiliate links intact. The company says more than 80% of Pinners feel content on Pinterest is informed by expert opinions, and partnerships with creators have shown stronger return on ad spend and brand awareness.
On connected TV, Pinterest acquired tvScientific in February, and advertisers can now run standalone CTV campaigns through Pinterest. Its Roku show, “Bring My Pinterest to Life,” is being filmed for a second season set for 2027.
Watch the AI guardrails
Pinterest is coupling its AI push with safety features, including tools to reduce AI-generated images in categories like architecture, beauty, and food and drink, and automatic limits on generative-AI data sharing for users under 18. It has also expanded its partnership with Nvidia to let Pinterest Assistant process significantly more visual context per request.
For marketing teams, the practical next step is to test Visual Search Ads with existing product catalogs and use Performance+ to steer campaigns toward new customers or seasonal priorities. The platform is making a clear bid for performance budgets; whether it can convert intent into measurable outcomes at scale is the metric to watch.
Source: Digiday
