Pinterest used its annual Pinterest Presents event this week to make its most direct pitch yet for performance ad budgets, introducing Visual Search Ads, an expanded Performance+ suite and a consumer AI feature called Restyle that turns saved home decor ideas into shoppable room mockups. Modern Retail reported that the new tools will reach advertisers over the coming weeks.
Visual Search Ads, now in beta across multiple markets, place sponsored products inside search results and in the close-up view that opens when someone taps a Pin. A shopper who searches for something like statement handbags can get a sponsored match and click straight through to the merchant's site. Chloe Wix, Pinterest's vice president of go-to-market, told advertisers the format is "a major step forward in helping brands drive measurable lower-funnel outcomes with the campaign assets that they already have," adding that no new creative is required.
Performance+, the automated buying suite Pinterest first opened in beta in 2024, is also picking up manual A/B testing, controls for how much of a campaign should reach new customers, the ability to push specific products during seasonal windows, and app integrations for driving installs.
Pinterest based its pitch on audience scale and shopping intent. The company says 640 million people use the platform each month, more than half of them Gen Z, and conduct over 80 billion searches. More than half of those searches relate to purchases, while 96% contain no brand name. Chief business officer Lee Brown said paid clicks to advertisers have grown fivefold over three years and argued that ads match what users already seek on Pinterest. CEO Bill Ready said: "For much of our history, Pinterest was a great place to build awareness, but not to drive results. I'm proud to say that Pinterest is now a performance platform, … and AI is powering all of it."
On the consumer side, TechCrunch reported that Restyle lets users photograph a room, then ask the AI to add wall art or furniture, swap or erase individual items, change paint or lighting, or rework the whole space in styles such as bohemian, industrial or dopamine. Items pulled into the mockup, including things saved from Pinterest boards, link back to products people can buy. The feature is opening as an early preview in the US and Canada, with a wider rollout planned for next month. The two outlets differ on timing: TechCrunch said the company announced Restyle on Thursday, while Modern Retail placed the Pinterest Presents reveals on Tuesday.
Restyle runs on Pinterest Intelligence, which the company said combines Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and Nvidia Dynamo with open source models and its own technology. Nvidia separately said an expanded partnership lets Pinterest Assistant process 25 times more visual context per request.
Pinterest also announced creator and connected-TV updates. Since June, creators have been able to connect Amazon storefronts to Pinterest while keeping affiliate links, and content chief David Brinker said more than 80% of users feel the platform's content reflects expert opinions. After buying CTV ad platform tvScientific in February, Pinterest now sells standalone connected-TV campaigns. Its Roku show "Bring My Pinterest to Life" will return for a second season in 2027.
Executives also addressed concerns about AI-generated content. Users have complained about AI images and recipes appearing across the platform, and Pinterest last year added an option to reduce AI imagery in categories such as architecture, beauty and food. Data sharing for generative AI training is off by default for users under 18. Ready told advertisers the industry has lacked alternatives to large platforms whose practices they dislike, while CMO Claudine Cheever said searches for analog activities and dumb phones have more than doubled. Second-quarter revenue rose 18% from $998.2 million a year earlier, monthly active users increased 11%, and Pinterest forecast next-quarter revenue of $1.19 billion to $1.21 billion.
Visual Search Ads turn unbranded queries into paid inventory. With 96% of Pinterest searches containing no brand name, organic results will compete with sponsored visual matches. Product images and structured feeds may therefore affect whether a brand appears while users are considering a purchase. Pinterest has not shown whether Restyle will favor catalogs optimized for visual matching, so any effect on visibility inside AI-generated room mockups remains unproven. For media buyers comparing AI search channels, Pinterest is offering access to users before they have chosen a product or brand.