Pinterest is testing a new AI-powered shopping experience called Ask Pinterest as the company expands its artificial intelligence efforts across both consumer discovery and digital advertising.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Pinterest has launched Ask Pinterest, an experimental AI shopping app available to a limited number of users in the United States.
- The app uses Pinterest’s Taste Graph and user preferences to deliver personalized recommendations through natural language conversations.
- Pinterest also introduced new AI tools for advertisers, including Business Assistant, Pinterest MCP, and Performance+ Creative.
- The announcements come ahead of Cannes Lions, where AI is expected to be a major focus for marketers and advertisers.
What Happened?
Pinterest has unveiled Ask Pinterest, a new experimental application designed to explore the next generation of AI-powered shopping and product discovery. The launch is part of a broader company effort to bring artificial intelligence into both consumer experiences and advertising tools as online discovery increasingly shifts toward conversational interfaces.
The company says the app will help it learn how users interact with AI driven shopping experiences while allowing Pinterest to experiment outside its main platform.
Pinterest introduces ‘Ask Pinterest,’ an AI-powered shopping app that delivers personalized product recommendations through conversational interactions. This standalone application leverages Pinterest’s ‘Taste Graph’ to enhance user experience, reflecting the company’s commitment… pic.twitter.com/NThLS0dBNx
— The Daily Tech Feed (@dailytechonx) June 17, 2026
Pinterest Wants Shopping to Feel More Conversational
With Ask Pinterest, users can ask questions in natural language and receive personalized recommendations based on their interests, tastes, and shopping goals.
The app is powered by Pinterest’s Taste Graph, an internal system that maps user interests, aesthetics, intent, and preferences. Instead of relying only on traditional keyword searches, the experience is designed to understand context and provide recommendations that feel more personal.
Pinterest believes this approach can handle more complex requests that may not fit neatly into a standard search box.
For example, users could ask for help planning a dinner party, finding home decor inspiration, or furnishing a room over time. The system can also retain context across sessions, creating a more continuous shopping experience.
When users sign in, Ask Pinterest can use their saved Pins and Boards to further personalize recommendations and inspiration.
A New Approach to AI Discovery
The launch arrives as technology companies increasingly compete to become the starting point for online discovery.
AI chatbots and conversational assistants are changing how consumers search for products, gather information, and make purchasing decisions. Companies across the industry are racing to develop AI-powered shopping experiences that can provide recommendations, compare products, and guide users through buying decisions.
Pinterest is taking a slightly different approach by leveraging its own platform data rather than positioning itself primarily as a data provider for external AI services.
The company says Ask Pinterest will serve as a testing ground where it can rapidly experiment with visual first and agentic shopping experiences without disrupting the core Pinterest platform.
According to Pinterest Chief Business Officer Lee Brown:
Pinterest Expands AI Tools for Advertisers
Alongside Ask Pinterest, the company announced several new AI-focused tools aimed at advertisers and marketing teams.
One of the biggest additions is Business Assistant, an AI collaborator integrated into Pinterest Ads Manager and mobile experiences. Currently in closed beta in the United States, the tool helps advertisers understand trends, monitor campaign performance, and identify optimization opportunities.
Unlike traditional chat based assistants, Business Assistant presents information visually through graphs, trend insights, and recommended Pins.
Pinterest also introduced Pinterest Model Context Protocol, or MCP, an AI native infrastructure layer that connects Pinterest campaign, analytics, and keyword insights with third party copilots and agentic marketing tools.
The company is developing the protocol with partners including PMG, Pacvue, Innovid by Mediaocean, and Omnicom’s Jump 450.
Chris Ivey, President of Jump 450, said:
Pinterest also launched Performance+ Creative, a new AI model that evaluates multiple ad creatives and identifies the version most likely to perform best for each advertising impression. Additional ad review features and enhanced creative reporting capabilities were also announced.
Why This Matters?
Pinterest is clearly positioning itself for a future where discovery happens through conversations rather than simple searches. By combining its vast collection of user interests, planning behavior, and shopping intent with AI technology, the company hopes to create more personalized experiences for both consumers and advertisers.
The launch of Ask Pinterest signals that the company wants to play a larger role in the rapidly evolving AI shopping landscape while building on the visual discovery experience that has long defined its platform.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I think Pinterest is making a smart move by focusing on what makes its platform different rather than trying to become another generic AI chatbot. The company already has years of data showing what people want to buy, plan, and create. Combining that information with conversational AI could make product discovery much more useful than traditional search. If Ask Pinterest succeeds, it could become one of the most interesting AI shopping experiences currently being developed.
