Pinterest CEO on Open Source AI: Performance & Cost Benefits

Pinterest Explores Open Source AI for Cost Efficiency

During a Tuesday earnings conference call, Pinterest’s CEO, Bill Ready, emphasized the potential of utilizing open source AI models. This strategy aims to manage expenses as the company broadens the applications of visual AI.

AI's Role in Pinterest's Features

Pinterest, frequently used by consumers at the beginning of their shopping process, employs AI technology to enhance several features. These include personalized recommendations, a search function integrating both text and images, targeted advertising, and the recently launched AI-powered Pinterest Assistant for product discovery.

Agentic Commerce and Financial Impact

Investors inquired about Pinterest’s prospects in agentic commerce – AI systems capable of autonomous action on behalf of users. They wanted to understand how the evolving AI landscape might affect the company’s financial performance and growth trajectory.

This question gained urgency following the company’s third-quarter earnings report. Pinterest predicted a weaker holiday shopping season than initially anticipated, attributing this to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and their detrimental effect on the home furnishings sector.

Consequently, Pinterest anticipates fourth-quarter revenue between $1.31 billion and $1.34 billion. This falls short of the analysts’ average estimate of $1.34 billion, leading to a stock decline of over 21% on Wednesday.

Leveraging AI and LLMs

Despite these revenue concerns, Ready highlighted opportunities to maximize AI and LLM (large language model) utilization without substantial cost increases.

Beyond its existing proprietary models, which are already factored into its cost structure, Pinterest regularly evaluates leading off-the-shelf models against open source alternatives. Initial findings suggest that open source models demonstrate considerable promise.

“We are observing remarkably strong performance from open source models, particularly for Pinterest’s specific visual AI applications,” Ready stated to investors.

“Early testing reveals significant cost reductions – orders of magnitude lower – with comparable performance when using fine-tuned open source models compared to leading proprietary options, considering current market rates and per token costs.”

Cost-Effective AI Implementation

The company intends to implement numerous open source models across various applications, achieving results at “a fraction of the cost” associated with larger model providers.

“We are confident in the value we deliver to users, our ability to align this with monetization, and our capacity to manage costs and deliver effectively,” Ready added.

Exploring Agentic Shopping

Ready also addressed the potential of agentic shopping. Pinterest currently offers simplified purchasing through its Amazon partnership, and will assess user demand for AI-driven autonomous buying before further development.

Pinterest Assistant and Personalized Experiences

Currently, Pinterest believes its primary advantage lies in guiding users through the shopping journey. The company aims to enhance this experience with the Pinterest Assistant, an AI companion offering advice and recommendations.

The assistant leverages user data – including boards, collages, saves, and comparisons to users with similar preferences – to provide tailored suggestions.

AI-Curated Boards

Pinterest is also introducing AI-curated personalized boards. These boards combine the expertise of human curators with the capabilities of artificial intelligence.