Pinterest unveils AI-fueled ad tools

Pinterest is helping advertisers move to the next iteration of the visual web with the help of generative AI.

At its Pinterest Presents event this week, the company unveiled automation and artificial intelligence features for its Pinterest Performance+ offering. Now, brands can modify blank, white or flat backgrounds to make AI-powered lifestyle content.

Pinterest claims marketers can update assets quicker, with 50% less input. Early results have shown a 64% decrease in cost per action and 1.8 times return on ad spend. There was also a 30% increase in conversion rates.

“Ad innovation on Pinterest has been at an all-time high,” Pinterest chief revenue officer Bill Watkins said in a press release. “We’re still the place for brands to drive discovery, but we’re now delivering on the lower funnel and creative too. Brands are increasing Pinterest in their media mix and they no longer need to choose between awareness or lower funnel performance. Now they can have both.”

Other ad features announced during Pinterest Presents included personalised promotions. The tool will show users promotions and sales based on their search and pinning history.

This feature launches in time for the holiday shopping season. In 2023, the average discount rate reached 21%, the lowest since the start of the pandemic. Pinterest claims advertisers that used Promotions had a 12.7% increase in conversions compared to ads that did not.

Generative AI could add up to $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity, according to McKinsey. With the help of GenAI, McKinsey predicts marketing productivity could increase between 5-15% of total marketing spend. However, it also warned overuse of tools could unnecessarily increase spending.

Pinterest is not the only company to use generative AI to enhance image-based advertising. Google offers similar technology to change background colors and context. Amazon lets brands input via text the image they would like in the background of their products, and recently added an AI video ads generator. Meta also offers generative AI image generators for its ad clients, which includes background, full image generation and image expansion tools.