The news: Pinterest is pushing further into search to maintain growth, especially among Gen Z.

Two-thirds of Pinterest’s interactions involve search, CEO Bill Ready told Business Insider. “Search is the core of the business,” Ready said. “The business didn't have that clarity three years ago,” back when Pinterest was still hemorrhaging users.

Why it matters: Pinterest’s searches are “highly commercial in nature,” Ready said—making advertising a natural fit for the platform.

• Raymond James analyst Josh Beck called Pinterest an “untapped” advertising platform.
• “Search behaviors are key inputs powering its ads business,” Forrester analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said. “That intel makes Pinterest a really attractive high-intent surface for advertisers.”

Pinterest holds just 2.8% of US social network ad revenue share. That means less competition for consumer attention than larger platforms—increasing opportunities for product discovery.

Value proposition: Pinterest is unique in its focus on visual searches, which it expanded in May. In fact, 73% of consumers use Pinterest for search because it’s more visually appealing than other search engines, per Adobe.

Recent updates that help advertisers stand out include:

• In October, the visual discovery platform added a toggle to cut down on AI slop in user feeds to boost real-world brands.
• In September, Pinterest boosted its ad options to include local inventory ads and the option to buy ads that appear in the top slots of search results.

By the numbers: Pinterest’s popularity as a search interface is growing fast—particularly among Gen Zers, who now make up over half of the platform’s user base, Ready said.

• The platform has 80 billion monthly search queries, according to Pinterest. That’s comparable to ChatGPT’s 75 billion queries per month.
• 47% of Gen Zers use Pinterest as a search engine, per Adobe.
• 36% of consumers who use Pinterest for search said they start their searches on Pinterest over Google.

What’s next for advertisers: Pinterest’s high-intent audience, paired with shoppable pins, presents an ideal platform for brand messaging. As more users weed out genAI images, legitimate ads will stand out and minimize fears of scams.

• Advertisers should use real images versus any created by genAI to avoid content being hidden by users.
• To gain user trust, ensure ads and shoppable pins are clearly branded, and participate in the Verified Merchant program.