Pinterest Enhances Visual Search with AI-Powered Features for Personalized Shopping Experience

Pinterest updates visual search with more AI-powered features | TechCrunch

Pinterest is upgrading its visual search feature with a handful of new capabilities. On Monday, the company announced it's rolling out new functionality to improve its feature that allows users to search using an image instead of text. This includes new tools to more precisely narrow and refine searches, as well as those that make visual search more accessible across Pinterest's website. The company believes the new additions will help Pinterest stand out as a search engine for things users may otherwise have trouble describing with words -- like a vibe, style, or aesthetic. One new enhancement will help users to better understand what it is they like about a certain Pin, initially in the women's fashion category in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Here, when users tap on a Pin, they'll see an animated glow, and Pinterest will then generate words that help people determine why they like the Pin in the first place. This feature is powered by Visual Language Models (VLMs), a form of generative AI, the company says. The addition is also similar to Google's multimodal search, which combines text and images into a single query. Except in this case, Pinterest is helping users by generating the words that could be used to augment and narrow their search query. (The company notes it's using "industry-leading" multimode embedding models, but didn't specify which ones.) Another update will allow users to refine their fashion searches by seeking out alternatives to the item shown in a different color, style, or fabric. For instance, Pinterest suggests you could use this to find a similar style that had more of a "Y2K" aesthetic, or find something similar to a blazer you liked, but that works better for a formal occasion. Pinterest also says it will expand its visual search across more areas in its app, including by allowing users to long-press on any Pin on their Home Feed to kick off a visual search. The update comes on the heels of an announcement that Pinterest will begin to label AI-generated images and soon allow users to limit the number of AI images they're shown, after numerous user complaints. People had begun to worry that AI would ruin Pinterest, as it would be even harder to find genuine images that could inspire their future shopping. Combined with the AI-focused update and the improved visual search, Pinterest hopes to re-establish its use as a visual shopping tool that leverages AI, as opposed to one that's being destroyed by it.

Pinterest's AI will help you find the 'right words' to search for fashion

Umar Shakir is a news writer fond of the electric vehicle lifestyle and things that plug in via USB-C. He spent over 15 years in IT support before joining The Verge. Pinterest is using AI to try and help you find the fashion accessories you're looking for, even if you can't describe them in your own words. The company is using a "Visual Language Model" to generate descriptive words of styles and the overall "vibes" of image Pins on its site, and will let you click into them to discover and refine your personal taste. The new tool breaks down and decodes images to make it easier to search for specific details in outfits across the site, in turn making it easier for you to shop. So, if you like a skirt someone is wearing in a Pin on the site, you can view the image to see a description of the color palette, fit, aesthetic, and more. You can then refine the style by asking to change the colors and fabric -- or even the occasion -- so you can find a version that fits in elsewhere, like in a work environment. The new visual search features are launching for women's fashion content first and are available starting today in the US, Canada, and the UK. Pinterest plans to launch the feature to other categories and countries "over time."

Pinterest's new AI tools help you shop by visuals and vibes

The results are aimed at helping produce personalized shopping ideas Pinterest has always been about visuals over text. Now, with the help of AI, you can figure out how to describe those visual inspirations and even get a chance to buy your favorite items, starting with women's fashion. A growing number of Pins on Pinterest will have specific pieces of an outfit or aesthetic highlighted with a shimmering animated glow. Click on, say, the plaid skirt or the blue jacket, and Pinterest will show you some of the words to describe the item and help you find more like it without you needing a fashion dictionary. Pinterest is using generative AI and Visual Language Models (VLMs) for the new features. The VLMs essentially translate images into searchable terms, decoding your taste from an image and helping you shop for it. It's like a more nuanced reverse image search tool, one that can converse with you about your interest in vivid tones and stereopunk plaid. You're not expected to describe your dream outfit with perfect vocabulary. You're not expected to know what kind of tailoring makes a jacket "structured casual." You just have to know that you liked that one look for its vibe. Pinterest takes it from there. "Our visual search technology represents a shift in how users interact with and discover inspiration," Pinterest vice president of design Dana Cho said in a statement. "We're not simply delivering search results - we're curating a personalized journey of discovery that empowers individuals to find their unique style, and shop it too." There are other new AI features as well, including a new refinement bar that lets you tweak results on the fly. For instance, if you like a look but want to change its color or styling, you can use the refinement bar to filter for them or other elements like fabric. And if you spot something you want to use to start a visual search from within the app, you just need to long-press on it. Pinterest says it plans to expand the AI tools beyond women's fashion eventually, but it makes sense that it would start there when it's such a major facet of the platform. Pinterest's new tools don't mean it's entirely trusting of AI. The company has also begun adding new labels for AI-modified or AI-generated images and giving users the option to see fewer of them via topic filters. It's a small but smart nod to the fact that inspiration is great, but that reality still matters when you're shopping for actual clothing. Still, it's an interesting approach to online shopping, and one that fits the way people shop in person by looking at clothes, not just describing them. The AI is like a personal shopper who understands most people rely on visual impressions and gut feelings to decide what to buy, rather than knowing stitch patterns and trend terms.

Pinterest Bets on New Visual Search Features to Fuel Personalization | PYMNTS.com

Pinterest is introducing new features to let users find ideas that match their personal tastes. The new visual search tools, announced Monday (May 5), will first be available for women's fashion content in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., eventually moving to more categories. "Our visual search technology represents a shift in how users interact with and discover inspiration," Dana Cho, Pinterest vice president of design, said in a news release. "We're not simply delivering search results -- we're curating a personalized journey of discovery that empowers individuals to find their unique style, and shop it too." According to the release, the new tools let users find what they're searching for without using words, by breaking down and decoding images so users can quickly search and shop for the details of an outfit they like. "Whether it's an overall aesthetic, a color palette, a specific fit, or product category, when users view a Pin, we'll now generate the words they can use to figure out what they like about the image, and then further explore and shop," the company said. To help users identify and select the objects that they want more easily, the company says it has added a new animated glow. Also new is a "refinement bar" to help users narrow down their search results and find things that match their style. "For example, you spot an outfit you like, and use the 'style' refinement to see similar outfits but more y2k, or you love this blue blazer, and use the 'occasion' refinement to see more formal options," Pinterest said. The company said the new search options are powered by visual language models (VLMs), a form of generative artificial intelligence (AI), to offer users a "more expansive visual 'vocabulary' to 'describe' their style ideas." Pinterest said earlier this year that it had been integrating AI across its platform for a more personalized and seamless shopping experience, with the technology now playing a key role in the company's recommendations, search algorithms and advertising models. "AI is deeply integrated in every aspect of our user experience and advertising business," CEO Bill Ready said on an earnings call. "Our recommendations are highly relevant, incorporating more signals from user actions. This drives deeper engagement and strengthens our flywheel. We focused heavily on improving the user experience. We invested in better curation experiences through boards and collages."