Pinterest is taking things to the next level by integrating artificial intelligence into its visual search. These innovations make discovering products and finding inspiration more intuitive, going beyond simple keywords. With personalized recommendations and a redesigned shopping experience, the platform is establishing itself as a key player in digital marketing, facilitating the user journey and helping brands reach their target audience.
With the rise of generative artificial intelligence, Pinterest is transforming its tools, including its visual search, to deliver an unprecedented user experience. This article details how Pinterest is redefining the way people find ideas, shop, and get inspired, thanks to innovative AI-powered features. Discover the impact of these advancements on image search, social e-commerce, and influencer strategies, and understand why Pinterest is now a key digital leader.
Pinterest, generative AI for augmented visual search
The update announced by Pinterest in May 2025 marks a strategic shift: visual search, already at the heart of the platform's DNA, is being enriched with the possibilities offered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Thanks to visual language models (VLMs), similar to those that power tools like Google Lens, the user experience takes a leap forward. The goal: to transform any image into the starting point for a personalized exploration, where simple aesthetic curiosity can turn into concrete purchasing intent.
The process is simple yet revolutionary. By clicking the Search Image button, the user triggers an automatic scan of the selected image. Pinterest's AI then breaks down each element to generate related keywords and instantly suggest a selection of similar content. It becomes possible to target only a specific detail in a photo—such as a pair of shoes or a jacket pattern—and obtain related suggestions or directly marketable products.
- Semantic image segmentation: AI dissects a photo into several key elements, making each detail searchable.
- Automatic keyword generation: no need to know how to describe a mood or style, the tool itself suggests relevant terms.
- Search Refinement: The user can select a component of an image to launch a specific search on that precise point.
- Direct access to purchase: results display more and more related products, encouraging conversion.
Initially, the new visual search primarily targets the "Women's Fashion" category and targets users in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. But Pinterest has already announced its intention to expand it to other verticals, confirming its desire to establish itself everywhere where image-based discovery makes sense, from interior design to gastronomy.
| AI functionality | Category | User benefit | Status 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting out elements in images | Women's fashion | Targeted search for a product or detail | Launched (USA/Canada/UK) |
| Automatic keyword generation | All (test function) | Immediate suggestions, no need to know what to look for | Deployment phase |
| Selecting a specific element (AI zoom) | Decoration, Design (coming soon) | Ultra-personalized discovery | Foreseen |
The evolution is part of a global context where visual search is exploding both on Pinterest and on competing networks like Instagram or Snapchat (see recent analysis on Snapchat vs Instagram 2025). This new approach shows how much the visual now takes precedence over the text, especially when it comes to expressing an idea that is difficult to verbalize.
Use cases for generative AI on Pinterest
The technology deployed by Pinterest applies to a multitude of needs, both for users looking for inspiration and for e-commerce and marketing professionals. influencer marketing. Here are some examples:
- Custom outfit searches: a user selects a silhouette and keeps only the bag, to discover all the variations on sale.
- Discovering decor styles: a photo of a living room allows you to dissect furniture, color, and accessories and receive alternatives adapted to the season or budget.
- Smart Mix & Match: Pinterest suggests lists that combine multiple inspirations from the same image to create a unique mood board.
- Influencer campaigns: Brands can now target their audience's visual interests with great precision and design ads with increased power.
The impact of these features on digital marketing is considerable. Pinterest is no longer just an inspiration network but is becoming a true conversion platform, just like levers like YouTube Shorts or even Instagram campaigns, whose advertising automation also inspires Pinterest (Instagram and Facebook Ads Tips).
The platform thus aims for two ambitions simultaneously: to make users' lives easier but also to accelerate the purchasing process, a dual challenge that makes Pinterest a reference in 2025 for any player in the social web.
This initial exploration lays the groundwork. Let's now move on to enriching the user experience through AI on Pinterest and its impact on social strategies.
The new user experience on Pinterest thanks to artificial intelligence
Pinterest has always sought to streamline the discovery of inspiring content, but visual search powered by artificial intelligence now brings a new dimension of personalization. Users are no longer limited by keywords: they can start with an image, isolate a detail (color, style, occasion), and navigate through a stream of suggestions that truly match their preferences.
In 2025, Pinterest's new integrated search bar is the pivot of this transformation. In concrete terms, when a product catches your eye but doesn't entirely match your expectations—for example, a favorite dress in a less-than-favorite color—you simply select a "color," "occasion," or "style" filter to view only relevant alternatives. No need to abandon your initial inspiration: the platform generates variations that precisely match your current mood.
- “Color” tab: one-click color customization of results.
- “Occasion” tab: instant sorting depending on whether you’re looking for a wedding outfit, an office look, or a weekend idea.
- “Style” and “Season” tab: immediate adaptation according to the desired style or the time of year.
This ultra-targeted search experience is accompanied by a truly integrated shopping dimension. Pinterest, a major player in social commerce, is integrating clickable items that link directly to product pages. This development benefits both designers and brands, from the fashion sector to the home decor world, including beauty and food. To delve deeper into influencer marketing in the luxury sector, this analysis details the links between influencers and major fashion houses (luxury brands and influencers).
| New AI Feature | User benefit | Benefit for brands/advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic filters (color, style, occasion, season) | Hyper-targeted exploration of ideas and products | More precise placement, increased conversion |
| Personalized discovery tour | Feeling of tailor-made support | Enriched data on uses and preferences |
| Shopping integrated into the visual feed | Go from inspiration to purchase in 1 click | Social Purchase Funnel Optimization |
| Smart selection by detail | Zoom in on the item you actually want | Advanced behavioral targeting |
The benefit for the influencer and creator community is significant. Through this automation of suggestions and the granularity of filters, Pinterest becomes an essential ally in the creation of tailored content, at the intersection of trends and marketing performance. This development brings the platform closer to other pioneers in social commerce, such as Instagram and TikTok (Instagram secrets 2025). For professionals looking to maximize the reach of their campaigns, the precise targeting offered by Pinterest now rivals the advertising power of Facebook or the immediacy of YouTube Shorts.
Here are some concrete examples of trending uses that encourage member creativity:
- Create seasonal looks: Use the “season” bar to instantly generate a selection of outfits suitable for summer or fall, without any searching effort.
- Inspiration for special events: Quickly find tailor-made decoration ideas for weddings, baby showers or birthdays.
- Advanced customization for influencers: Convert the same photo into dozens of filtered variations based on current trends, to anticipate and stay in step with micro-trends.
- Optimizing influencer campaigns: Identify the most sought-after items to build a tailor-made offer aimed at a specific audience.
This profound transformation of the Pinterest experience ushers in a new era, far beyond simple visual inspiration. By leveraging AI, the platform magnifies the relationship between aspiration and achievement. Coming soon, the impact for brands and marketing will be analyzed in more detail, as well as its connections to the broader ecosystem of social networks and digital commerce.
Impact of AI Visual Search on Influencer Marketing and Social Commerce
The transformation of visual search on Pinterest by artificial intelligence is disrupting the rules of influencer marketing and social commerce. For advertisers, brands, and content creators, these advances are redefining how to reach, engage, and convert a qualified audience. We analyze the structural consequences of this change in scale.
The advantages of pairing AI and Pinterest are numerous:
- Increased product visibility: Thanks to automatic element detection in images, referenced items appear in multiple searches, without manual intervention.
- Refining advertising targeting: behavioral analysis enabled by AI makes it possible to finely segment audiences according to their internal tastes, no longer based on declarations, but on actual visual navigation.
- Faster conversion: In-app purchase button and automated suggestions reduce the number of steps between inspiration and ordering.
- Creative content optimization: Influencers now have predictive charts indicating which inspirations will most appeal to their audience, helping to maximize engagement.
These developments are part of a climate of generalized change in social media, where each player competes in innovation to attract attention. Pinterest vs Instagram for marketing now poses real arbitration debates. Pinterest's algorithmic approach – centered on visual recommendation and rapid satisfaction of need – contrasts with the more narrative social dynamics of Instagram, or the viral aspect carried by TikTok (see TikTok customer reviews). Brands must therefore develop omnichannel strategies, adapted to the specificity of each platform.
| 2025 comparison | Pinterest (visual AI) | YouTube Shorts | TikTok | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery by image | Yes (AI clipping, generated keywords) | Partial (Instagram Lens) | No | Via videos, but no image editing |
| In-feed purchase | Yes | On test | Coming soon | Yes |
| Feed customization | Ultra advanced (contextual AI) | Average | Good | Very advanced (viral algorithm) |
| Use by influencers | Powered by AI | History | Emerging | Massive |
| Behavioral data exploited | Images, details, precise clicks | Hashtags, stories | Video views and likes | Views, shares, trends |
We are therefore witnessing a strategic alignment of Pinterest with underlying trends identified in recent years (innovations Instagram 2023), but with a unique focus on image analysis. This specificity makes it an interesting pivot for launching multi-platform hybrid campaigns, especially as compatibility increases with other environments such as YouTube, Mastodon (Mastodon operation) or even Reddit/Quora (Reddit and Quora in social networks).
In summary, the use of AI on Pinterest allows you to:
- Multiply entry points for purchasing and discovering products.
- Simplifying the lives of content creators through precise algorithmic support.
- Offer brands a clear and optimized return on investment.
- Align with the growing habits of digital commerce, where image and video predominate.
For any company wishing to capitalize on these innovations, it is crucial to adapt its social media strategy. Whether you are an advertiser, influencer or marketing manager, leveraging Pinterest and its AI tools helps boost digital presence, increase engagement and strengthen the brand-customer connection. This transformation is perfectly in line with ValueYourNetwork's logic of excellence: an expert in influencer marketing since 2016, the team supports brands and creators with tailor-made solutions, adapted to each platform. With hundreds of successful campaigns under our belt, our expertise ensures seamless and effective connections between influencers and ambitious companies. To boost your strategy with these innovations, contact us.
FAQ about Pinterest and artificial intelligence visual search
How is Pinterest revolutionizing visual search with artificial intelligence?
Pinterest is revolutionizing visual search with artificial intelligence by breaking down images to generate relevant keywords and suggesting similar content. This approach allows users to explore products and inspirations that are difficult to express in words, transforming visual exploration into a personalized and intuitive shopping experience.
What are the benefits of artificial intelligence for Pinterest users?
Artificial intelligence on Pinterest brings unprecedented personalization, allowing users to filter by color, style, occasion, or season. This provides users with targeted suggestions, speeds up their discovery process, and seamlessly moves from inspiration to purchase.
How do brands benefit from AI visual search on Pinterest?
Brands gain direct access to engaged audiences through image slicing and multiplying their products' appearance in relevant searches. This improves visibility, optimizes campaign targeting, and facilitates user conversion.
How does AI visual search on Pinterest differ from Instagram?
Pinterest's unique feature lies in its ability to analyze images and automatically generate keywords, making every detail searchable. Instagram, while offering similar features, remains more narrative-driven and focused on stories or hashtags rather than granular search.
Can you buy directly from a visual search on Pinterest?
It's now possible to shop directly through Pinterest's AI suggestions. Products identified in images are linked to business listings, allowing users to turn their inspiration into a purchase without leaving the platform.
Is Pinterest AI available in all categories and countries?
By 2025, Pinterest's AI visual search will primarily target women's fashion in the US, Canada, and the UK, but expansion to new categories and territories is underway. The platform plans to gradually roll out these technologies.
What practical examples illustrate the contribution of AI to Pinterest?
Examples: A user searches for a color alternative to a dress detected by AI, or selects a piece of furniture in a room to directly discover similar options to buy. AI makes it easier to find the desired product without a complex search phase.
Is artificial intelligence influencing the Pinterest discovery algorithm?
AI significantly improves Pinterest's discovery algorithm. Each visual interaction enriches the user's profile, refines recommendations, and makes browsing and purchasing journeys ever more relevant and intuitive.
Is Pinterest now an essential channel for influencer marketing?
With the integration of AI, Pinterest has established itself as a pillar of influencer marketing, with a unique ability to convert visual inspiration into engagement and sales. It thus meets the expectations of brands demanding precise targeting and measurable results.
How can ValueYourNetwork support brands and influencers on Pinterest IA?
ValueYourNetwork helps brands and influencers leverage Pinterest and its AI research by developing tailor-made campaigns that optimize visibility and ROI, thanks to recognized expertise across all social networks and hundreds of successful collaborations.