Pinterest Unveils AI-Powered Auto-Collages and Enhanced Trends Tool for Advertisers

Pinterest tests an AI feature that lets advertisers turn their catalogs into shoppable collages | TechCrunch

Pinterest is experimenting with "auto-collages," an AI feature that allows advertisers to quickly turn their product catalogs into shoppable collages, the company announced this week. The new feature is designed to make it easier for advertisers to reach customers while saving time and creative resources, Pinterest says. The company notes that collages are one of the most popular and engaging content types among Gen Z users, with over tens of millions of collages created on the platform. In early tests, Pinterest found that users saved auto-collages at twice the rate of standard product Pins. Auto-collages work by grouping together product images into shoppable visual content based on things like outfit ideas, user engagement, similar products, and user saves. For instance, the feature may group together clothing that makes up a stylish outfit based on existing looks. Or, it may create a new collage that is similar to existing collages that have seen strong user engagement. Plus, the feature may select similar products and group them together into a collage. In another case, auto-collages may generate a collage that includes products that are similar to ones that users have saved on their boards. "Auto-collage was born out of the Pinterest Ads Labs program that launched last year, where we innovate new generative AI products that help brands stay ahead of the curve," said Julie Towns, Pinterest Vice President for Product Marketing and Operations, in an announcement. "The auto-collages tool is an exciting leap that harnesses AI to instantly transform how brands turn their product catalog into fresh creative that resonates with Gen Z and beyond." Pinterest also announced that it's updating its "Trends" tool to help advertisers better understand and predict what users are planning to purchase next. The updated tool will leverage insights into what users are saving, curating, and shopping.

Pinterest Adds AI-Powered Shopping Trend Forecasts for Advertisers | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. One tool now being piloted among select advertisers is auto-collages, which uses AI to turn advertisers' existing Pinterest product catalog into shoppable collages, the company said in a Wednesday (June 11) press release. This AI feature turns product images into new shoppable visual content by, for example, building outfit ideas, emulating existing collages that have drawn strong user engagement, grouping together similar products, or creating collages that are similar to those users have saved on their boards, according to the release. "The auto-collages tool is an exciting leap that harnesses AI to instantly transform how brands turn their product catalog into fresh creative that resonates with Gen Z and beyond," Julie Towns, vice president for product marketing and operations at Pinterest, said in the release. The other tool announced Wednesday by Pinterest is an AI-enhanced version of its Trends tool that gives advertisers insights into what consumers want to buy, according to the release. The new version of Trends uses not only search data but also insights into what Pinterest users are saving, curating and shopping. With these insights, it can help brands visualize top trending searches in their category and see high-level themes based on top trending topics, per the release. One advertiser using Trends is eBay, according to the release. "Pinterest's trends data is highly valuable for understanding what matters to shoppers on any given day," Subbu Chandrasekaran, marketing platforms at eBay, said in the release. "It not only offers insights into what users are actively searching for but also enables us to build systems that identify which trends are truly shoppable." Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said in May that the company's investment in AI drove its growth in revenue and monthly active users in the first quarter. "Our ability to leverage AI to personalize our users' experience is a key differentiator and has enabled us to find our best product market fit in years," Ready said during an earnings call. Generative AI is helping visual search understand, classify and recommend the billions of images consumers browse every day, even when they can't describe what they're looking for in words, Pinterest Vice President of Design Dana Cho told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted in May. "There are image search engines that give you a near-duplicate," Cho said. "We want to show you it, like it, and slightly adjacent to it -- the rabbit-hole experience users expect from Pinterest."