After Earnings Disappoint, Pinterest Says It Surpasses ChatGPT in Search Volume

After a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter, Pinterest is making the case that it’s far more than a digital mood board. In defending the company’s position, CEO Bill Ready drew a comparison to ChatGPT — arguing that Pinterest actually sees more searches each month.

Ready said that, based on third-party estimates, ChatGPT handles around 75 billion searches per month. Pinterest, by comparison, sees roughly 80 billion monthly searches and drives about 1.7 billion clicks.

“That makes us one of the largest search destinations in the world,” Ready said. He also emphasized that more than half of Pinterest’s searches carry commercial intent, compared with what he estimated to be roughly 2% for ChatGPT.

Missing Wall Street’s Expectations

The bold comparison came as Pinterest reported quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street forecasts.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted $1.32 billion in revenue, slightly under the $1.33 billion analysts had expected. Earnings per share came in at 67 cents, missing the projected 69 cents. Pinterest also issued a soft outlook for the first quarter of 2026, forecasting revenue between $951 million and $971 million — below the $980 million analysts were looking for.

The company attributed the shortfall to a pullback in spending from major advertisers, particularly in Europe. A furniture tariff introduced in October also created headwinds in the home category, one of Pinterest’s core verticals. Executives warned that these pressures could persist into the current quarter.

User Growth Isn’t the Problem

Despite the earnings miss, Pinterest’s audience continues to grow. Monthly active users climbed 12% year over year to 619 million, surpassing Wall Street’s expectation of 613 million.

The challenge isn’t attracting users — it’s monetizing them.

Pinterest has long positioned itself as a place for planning and inspiration, where users browse ideas for home renovations, fashion, travel, and events. But that browsing mindset doesn’t always translate into immediate purchases, making it harder to convert engagement into advertising revenue.

In an era increasingly shaped by AI-driven search and shopping tools, that monetization gap could widen. Advertisers may gravitate toward platforms where purchase intent is explicit such as chatbot interactions that directly request product recommendations.

Preparing for an AI-Driven Shopping Future

When pressed on how Pinterest plans to compete as AI reshapes online shopping, Ready pointed to the company’s strengths in visual search, personalization, and product discovery.

Rather than relying on typed prompts, Pinterest aims to surface relevant products the moment users open the app. Ready also highlighted improvements to checkout stemming from the company’s partnership with Amazon, which has streamlined purchases on the platform.

While he acknowledged that consumers may not yet be comfortable letting AI agents shop entirely on their behalf, Ready said Pinterest is building toward that future.

For now, the company’s message is clear: despite short-term financial headwinds, it sees itself as a high-intent search engine and one that believes it can compete in an AI-first world.