A new report by Futurism has revealed the extent of AI’s influence on Pinterest — and it ain’t pretty. Traditionally, Pinterest acted as the internet’s mood board, with its aesthetic images helping users find inspiration in travel, cooking, interior design and more.
However, in its report, Futurism revealed that these days, “slop is everywhere on Pinterest.” The top results for common searches allegedly link back to AI content farming sites. These sites, according to Futurism, “often masquerade as helpful blogs.” However, these blog posts are usually of low quality, and the actual goal of the site is to make money through its display ads.
One example was the search term “healthy recipe ideas.” The outlet found that at least six of the first wave of results — including the very first result — were AI-generated. As previously mentioned, these images link back to unsavory “spammy” websites. One such website, which was styled as a blog, included a “writer” with two different names and an AI-generated “headshot.”
Futurism staff also found that AI slop was “seeping in” to the top search results no matter what search term they used. In an interview with Futurism, Pinterest user Josh said that “it’s just like finding needles in haystacks now for real art.” He added that the presence of AI has “devalued” his Pinterest experience.
Futurism also highlighted a man called Jesse Cunningham, one of the masterminds behind these AI-generated sites. In a YouTube video, he claimed that he was making $10,000 per month on Pinterest.
How Did Pinterest Respond?
However, the oddest part of this is Pinterest’s (lack of) response to it. In an email statement, the company said that it wasn’t slowing down on its AI experimentation.
“Impressions on generative AI content make up a small percentage of the total impressions on Pinterest,” the statement read.
“As people continue experimenting with generative AI content, we are working to provide users with more control and context over the content they see on Pinterest. Pinterest will continue intentionally leveraging AI, such as our inclusive AI features, to enhance the experience for our users and creators.”
The company then added in a further statement: “We have been building labeling of AI-generated or modified content to provide relevant context to users about what they see on Pinterest. We’ll continue to expand these labels in the coming months.”
