Among the disappointing findings, Pinterest claims to see more searches than ChatGPT

After especially not doing well At his fourth quarter earnings, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready tried to compare the digital photography site to the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT.

In an attempt to highlight its potential as a unique search engine, Ready said the site sees more searches than ChatGPT. According to third-party data, ChatGPT sees 75 billion searches per month, while Pinterest sees 80 billion searches and generates 1.7 billion monthly clicks, he said.

“This makes us one of the largest search engines in the world. And most importantly, more than half of those searches are commercial, compared to, I think… about 2% (of ChatGPT searches),” Ready added.

Pinterest in the fourth quarter missed expectations for both total revenue and earnings per share, reporting $1.32 billion in revenue versus $1.33 billion expected, with earnings per share of 67 cents, compared to 69 cents expected. It said that sales for the first quarter of 2026 will reach between $951 million and $971 million, below the $980 million expected.

The company said the shortfall had led many advertisers to cut spending, particularly in Europe, and that new furniture prices introduced in October had caused problems in the housing sector. It said that this could worsen in the first quarter.

Surprisingly, Pinterest missed out on earnings even though its users are growing faster than expected. The company reported that monthly users were up 12% year-over-year to 619 million, while Wall Street had forecast 613 million users.

Sections he has fallen 20% on after hours trading.

Pinterest has struggled to translate the massive use of its platform into ad dollars, as users often go to Pinterest to plan and dream, not shop and buy. This problem could become even more difficult in the age of AI, especially if marketers shift their investment to platforms where the intent of the purchase is clearly understood – such as chatbot requests that ask for product recommendations.

When asked about how Pinterest can drive AI-driven shopping, Ready pointed to the company’s search, discovery, and personalization features, which he said direct users to relevant content when they open the app.

“We’re helping them complete the marketing journey without writing at the same time,” he said, noting that Pinterest also benefited from the easy flow that came from its partnership with Amazon. He said customers don’t seem ready to let AI shop for them, but he said Pinterest will be ready when that time comes.

“That’s going to be one of the easiest parts of the business trip to deal with,” he said.