Pinterest earlierAnnounceThey introduced a new AI search and recommendation tool called "Pinterest Assistant" to their app, which analyzes users' past activity records such as pins and boards to provide more personalized visual recommendations.
Skilled at open-ended requests and recommending products based on similar tastes.
Pinterest emphasizes that, compared to traditional search functions that require users to have a specific goal, Pinterest Assistant is better at handling "open-ended" requests.
For example, a user can directly ask "what cushions would suit my living room decor?" The AI assistant will analyze the user's previously created "living room decor" inspiration board and compare it with the content stored by other users with similar tastes on the platform, thereby providing the user with accurate results that they may never have discovered on their own.
Targeting multimodal voice interaction to simulate real shopping
Pinterest seems to be particularly emphasizing the multimodal nature of this new feature. The primary interaction method they envision is initiating a voice search via the microphone icon in the app. The AI assistant will receive voice prompts and use these commands to filter and analyze a large amount of visual content on the platform to find the most suitable recommendations.
Pinterest says the process will not only help you discover new items, but the whole experience will also be "closer to how people shop in real life."
Can an AI assistant solve the problem of AI-generated content overload?
The launch of its own AI assistant also puts Pinterest in an interesting position regarding the proliferation of AI content on its platform.
Many users have recently complained that Pinterest is flooded with AI-generated "slop," making it increasingly difficult to find "real" purchasable items or inspiration. In response, Pinterest began tagging AI-generated content in May and added an option to reduce the amount of AI-generated content displayed in early October.
While Pinterest Assistant isn't a direct solution to the problem of AI-generated content overload, it might offer a more efficient way for users tired of manually filtering AI content to find truly valuable information more quickly amidst the chaos.
Pinterest Assistant is currently only in beta testing in the US market for users aged 18 and older, and is expected to gradually expand its availability in the coming weeks and months.
