Overall Platform Performance + Growth

If there’s a platform that should be on your radar right now, it’s Pinterest. The social media platform that calls itself “the place of endless possibilities” where users can discover inspiration for anything and everything.

In case you need more proof, check out the most recent stats: 

• $998 million in revenues (up 17% YoY), according to 2025 Q2 results posted by Pinterest
• All-time high of 578 million global monthly active users (an 11% increase from the previous year)
• Users of the platform are expected to increase over the next four years, with EMARKETER forecasting 97.7M Pinterest users by 2029

So how is Pinterest catering to this growing audience, keeping the platform user-minded first, while staying relevant and nimble in the ever-changing world of social media? And beyond this, how are they continuing to provide new opportunities for brands in advertising?

According to EMARKETER, the “company’s blend of genAI tools, commerce integrations, and performance-focused upgrades” is delivering to their user base.

One of these tools, launched last year, is Pinterest Performance+. And if you’re a brand seeking additional opportunities on social to reach your target audience, it’s time to start paying attention.

What is Pinterest Performance+?

Pinterest Performance+ officially launched in October 2024 after being announced at the platform’s annual “Pinterest Presents.” Similar to Meta’s Advantage+, it is a suite of AI-powered tools that aim to simplify ad creation, optimization, and targeting to improve campaign performance. It packages the platform’s automation and AI features, automating aspects of campaign management to maximize results (such as improving cost per action or cost per click) with less manual effort on the backend.

Currently, brands can utilize the feature in Ads Manager for the Consideration, Conversion, and Catalog Sales objectives. The result? 20% lower costs per action with 50% fewer inputs, saving time and money (something we could all use a little more of, right?).

There are two ways to enable Performance+:

1. 1. 1. At the campaign level, which uses the full suite of automated features and defaults.
      2. Independently, which uses individual features (such as targeting, creative, and ROAS bidding) to maximize results on specific elements.

Campaigns utilizing Performance+ also have a learning mode where it will study your campaign for two weeks to ensure it delivers optimal results. In this phase, Performance+ will test different approaches, creative, and spend. However, the platform does encourage brands to abstain from making any changes to the campaign during this time and, instead, be patient as it completes the cycle.

What are the Key Features of Pinterest Performance+?

The Pinterest Performance+ website gives great insight into all the features of the suite. We’re here to give you the TL;DR version in an organized chart.

What Type of Brands Should Consider Pinterest Performance+?

Pinterest Performance+ can work for many types of brands who have interest in Consideration, Conversion, and Catalog Sales goals.

So what kinds of brands will this platform feature work best?

1. E-Commerce and Retail Brands

   • The platform’s algorithm can match creative to shopper intent well, so brands can reach their consumers actively searching for their products or services.
   • Brands with visually appealing products (i.e., fashion, home decor, beauty, food, wellness, etc.) work well since the platform is known for its aesthetically-pleasing, aspirational content.

2. Brands with a Strong Catalog

   • Performance+ works best when the platform has an abundance of product data (i.e., SKU images, titles, and prices).
   • The feature is ideal for brands already running Shopping Ads or Catalog Sales campaigns on the platform.

3. Brands Focused on Conversion or Lower-Funnel Objectives

   • Performance+ uses historical performance and signals to optimize toward measurable actions (i.e., adds to cart, checkouts, sign-ups, etc.) and can outperform manual campaigns when there is enough conversion data.

4. Brands with Smaller Teams or that are New to Pinterest Advertising

   • For brands that don’t have the time, bandwidth, or expertise to continually adjust targeting and creative, Performance+ can automate much of the process and minimize time in the upfront.

5. Seasonal or Evergreen Brands

   • For brands that have seasonal surges and upticks (i.e., holidays, weddings, back-to-school, etc.), Performance+ can quickly adapt to trending keywords and target audience behavior.

Why Should Brands Utilize Pinterest Performance+?

According to EMARKETER, the majority of US business owners are using Pinterest to drive traffic to their websites and build brand awareness. About a third of responds are also using the platform for search visibility, trends/audience insights, and generating sales through shoppable Pins.

So, can Pinterest Performance+ be a cure all for brands? Maybe and maybe not.

There are a few limitations and cons to the platform feature.

These include:

• Not designed for Awareness-Only campaigns – Performance+ is made for measurable performance outcomes, so it’s not ideal for top-of-funnel reach.
• Creative testing constraints – due to the system’s automation, brands may get less reasoning on why an asset is outperforming others, making it harder to extract learnings.
• Limited control – brands can’t manually set detailed targeting or placements as the platform chooses what it thinks will perform best.
• Requires strong conversion tracking – brands with limited site data or smaller pixel volumes may not see as great of efficiency and optimization.
• Potential for higher spend earlier on – Performance+ learns by trying out different audience and creative combinations which can lead to higher spends during the learning phase.

However, Pinterest Performance+ is worth trying out if your brand meets the criteria mentioned earlier. Performance+ is here to help businesses reach their goals while simultaneously saving time and improving ad results through its suite of automation and AI tools. The feature can help simplify campaign creation for brands by handling the “hard stuff” like targeting and budget optimization and lead to better outcomes such as lower costs per action and costs per click.

By handling the routine tasks and minimizing time brands need to spend on management and setup, Performance+ frees up time for marketers and allows opportunity for scalability. It also ensures a more simplified workflow, streamlining the campaign creation process. So if you’re looking for increased engagement, improved performance, time savings, and smart optimization, give Pinterest Performance+ a try for your next campaign.

And if you’re unsure of where to start, fill out the form below, and let’s work together.