Pinterest has added a new AI-powered feature to its visual search engine. Now, when a user taps on an image, Pinterest will suggest words to describe what they’re seeing. Tap a chair and get “mid-century,” “woven,” “Japandi.” The AI guides discovery, teaches vocabulary, and sharpens consumer intent – which all sounds very useful.
Pinterest’s new “Shop with Camera” feature lets users snap a photo of anything and instantly find similar items from Pinterest’s retail partners. Collages (once static mood boards) are now interactive storefronts, with each image linking to a shoppable product. Pinterest’s scene-based visual search can even identify and categorize multiple objects in a single photo, offering personalized matches for each.
I like Pinterest's domain-specific approach. The company says more than 1.5 billion images were shopped last year and that product saves are up 70%. While enhanced image search is an obvious strategy, it also raises the questions: Do you need your products optimized for visual-first, AI-powered discovery? If so, how (exactly) do you do that?
As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged.
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
