Pinterest launches experimental AI shopping app 'Ask Pinterest'

On Wednesday, Pinterest announced a new experimental application called “Ask Pinterest” to explore conversational shopping. The standalone web application, currently available to a limited number of users on both mobile and desktop, allows the company to test a chatbot-like interface where consumers can use natural language to get personalized recommendations and inspiration. By keeping the experiment separate, Pinterest can test these conversational features without disrupting its main platform. However, the company noted that the Ask Pinterest app could eventually find its way to the main Pinterest app to enhance its core product discovery experience.

The launch positions Pinterest against competitors like Google, ChatGPT, Meta, and Shopify, which are all experimenting with or deploying AI-powered shopping and search tools. Rather than turning itself into a source of product recommendations that other AI services could leverage through licensing deals, Pinterest has focused on using its own data to train AI models and power its products. Specifically, the company is leveraging its “Taste Graph”—defined as Pinterest’s internal data mapping people to their interests and aesthetics. This allows the conversational assistant to use a user’s saved Pins and Boards to personalize its answers. Lee Brown, Pinterest’s chief business officer, emphasized this shift away from traditional search, stating that “the future of discovery won’t be driven by keywords alone. It will be shaped by context, taste, and trusted recommendations.”

Alongside the consumer-facing app, Pinterest is introducing several AI initiatives for marketers ahead of the Cannes Lions adtech industry gathering, which is focused on how AI can serve the needs of advertisers and marketers. These updates include an AI assistant, currently in beta in its Ads Manager for users in the U.S. Globally, Pinterest is rolling out a new AI model within Performance+, its ad product featuring AI models, to help advertisers select the best-performing ad creatives. Additionally, the company introduced the Pinterest Model Context Protocol (MCP)—an infrastructure layer that allows advertisers to manage and monitor campaigns using third-party agentic tools in a standardized way.

Why it matters

Pinterest is leveraging its internal Taste Graph data to compete with major AI search and shopping platforms, while simultaneously upgrading its ad infrastructure to keep pace with industry-wide AI adoption.