Simple Pin Podcast: New Features Released on Pinterest {2025}

Host: Kate Ahl
Episode Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kate Ahl provides a comprehensive round-up of the most important Pinterest feature releases and updates from May to November 2025. She takes a month-by-month approach, focusing on tools and changes for content creators, advertisers, and all Pinterest users. The goal: to help listeners leverage new Pinterest functionalities for better marketing, higher engagement, and improved business results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

May 2025: AI Labels, Visual Search, and the Visit Site Button

• AI Labeling on Pins

  • Pinterest began labeling content as "modified with AI," appearing in the lower left corner of relevant pins.
  • Purpose: To help users differentiate AI-created content from human-made.
  • Rollout Challenges: The system sometimes labels human-generated content as AI, indicating glitches.
  • Quote:

    “This was a way to then alert users who couldn’t see the difference between AI or not AI, an opportunity to detect that it was AI. This has been a little bit of a bumpy rollout…” —Kate Ahl [01:25]

• Visit Site Button (actually launched April)

  • Changed how users interact with pins—users need to scroll and click “Visit site” instead of clicking the pin directly.

• Visual Search Update

  • Improved functionality using AI to allow users to select parts of an image and see shopping options for those specific items.
  • Quote:

    “Getting better at this visual search is really important to Pinterest because it’s all visual based and this is fueled by AI in order to help users discover and refine their ideas…” —Kate Ahl [03:30]

June 2025: Advertiser Tools & Insights

• AI-Powered Auto Collages

  • For advertisers—auto-generates shoppable collages from product catalogs (e.g., different colors of a product).
  • Helps potential customers compare variants visually within ads.

• Trends Tool Update

  • Expanded ability to view and filter trends by shopping or content categories (“trends in the spotlight” and “editors picks”).
  • Quote:

    “If you’ve never used the Trends tool, let me say right now it’s one of the most powerful tools we have with Pinterest marketing.” —Kate Ahl [05:00]

  • Direct tip: Use trends.pinterest.com to guide your marketing.

• Pinterest Brand Studio

  • A “one-stop shop” for advertisers seeking creative support; access via Pinterest reps is required.
  • Useful for companies struggling with pin creative or campaign visuals.

September 2025: New Ad Features

• Where to Buy Links

  • Lets product sellers drive Pinterest users directly to stores (online or physical) carrying their products.
  • Especially relevant for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands wanting to highlight multiple retail outlets.
  • Quote:

    “Where to buy links might allow you to see where you can buy at more locations... So people could go to the store and buy. That’s a pretty great thing…” —Kate Ahl [08:05]

• Top of Search Ads (Beta)

  • Advertisers can bid to have ads in top 10 search results and related pins.
  • High-impact placement, likely premium pricing.
  • Notable Stats:

    “45% of clicks occur in the top 10 search results and also in related pins.” [09:15] “96% of top searches are unbranded…”

October 2025: AI Content Controls & New Boards Features

• Generative AI Content Controls

  • Users can fine-tune how much AI-generated content they see in their feed for specific categories (though not yet for “food”).
  • Early glitches—AI content sometimes still appears despite being turned off.
  • Quote:

    “If you know that majority of the people who follow you are using Pinterest, you can probably find this... Then you can go educate your audience on this and say ‘Are you maybe a little bit tired of the AI that you’re finding on Pinterest?’” —Kate Ahl [11:30]

• AI-Powered Boards

  • Boards now use AI to recommend products and personalize suggestions, helping users “make it yours” in areas like fashion and home decor.
  • Boards will display new tabs: “Make it Yours” (fashion, home), “More Ideas” (beauty, recipes, art), “All Saves.”
  • Quote:

    “They want to make boards more personalized and really cater to your taste and help you shop based on your taste.” —Kate Ahl [12:33]

• Pinterest Assistant (AI Search Assistant)

  • A new, conversational AI that takes long-form, natural language questions (e.g., “I need outfit ideas for a fall wedding in Seattle”).
  • Reflects a wider industry shift toward AI-powered search with longer user queries.
  • Quote:

    “People used to search with about 5, 4 words. Now on average they search with 23… bringing in something like a Pinterest Assistant is super helpful...” —Kate Ahl referencing HubSpot’s CEO [13:40]

November 2025: Instagram Integration Enhanced

• Direct Linking for Auto-Published Instagram Content

  • Pins auto-published from Instagram can now link directly to your claimed website domain instead of Instagram, driving more site traffic.

• Carousel Conversion

  • Instagram carousels (up to 20 slides) auto-convert into Pinterest carousel pins (Pinterest carousels capped at 5 slides).
  • Ongoing testing to determine if longer carousels are truncated.
  • Quote:

    “Pinterest carousels are capped at five slides. So if somebody has 20, will Pinterest cap it? I don’t know the answer to that yet, but I am working on getting that.” —Kate Ahl [16:53]

• Keyword Filtering

  • Posts containing certain keywords (like “ad”) in the Instagram caption are automatically excluded from auto-publishing to Pinterest (e.g., for compliance with paid promotions).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Jury’s still out on this one...whenever you get new updates released on any platform, there’s always going to be this learning time or a glitch time.” —Kate Ahl [02:05]
• “What I love about this update is… we’re going to be able to drill down into content and shopping, which are two very different things on Pinterest.” —Kate Ahl [05:30]
• “I kind of thought carousel pins were dying a little bit...Apparently they’re not.” —Kate Ahl [17:24]
• “If you are marketing actively on Pinterest or running Pinterest ads, it is really important that you stay up to date on all the latest features.” —Kate Ahl [18:56]

Important Timestamps

• 00:55 — Start of feature rundown; intro to AI labels and Visit site button
• 03:30 — Explanation of Visual Search enhancements
• 04:50 — Trends tool update, shopping vs. content trends
• 06:45 — Pinterest Brand Studio introduces creative solutions
• 08:05 — September’s “Where to Buy” links for product sellers
• 09:15 — Top of Search ads beta and Pinterest ad stats
• 11:04 — Generative AI content controls for users
• 12:33 — AI-powered board personalization and new tabs
• 13:40 — Pinterest Assistant: long-form question AI tool
• 15:54 — Instagram integration: direct linking and carousel pins
• 17:24 — Carousel pins discussion and ongoing testing

Summary Flow and Tone

Kate Ahl speaks in a friendly, encouraging manner, blending practical tips with insider knowledge. She emphasizes the ongoing evolution of Pinterest’s platform and the need for patience as new features roll out and stabilize. The tone is informative yet down-to-earth—ideal for Pinterest marketers and business owners looking to stay ahead.

Final Takeaway

Staying updated on Pinterest’s evolving tools is vital for marketers and businesses to maximize their visibility and results. For real-time updates, Kate recommends her “Pinterest Made Simple” newsletter, providing weekly briefings on platform changes.

“If you are marketing actively on Pinterest or running Pinterest ads, it is really important that you stay up to date on all the latest features.” —Kate Ahl [18:56]

Links and further resources are available in the episode description.