Pinterest Unveils Guided Search for Mobile Devices

Pinterest’s new guided search feature is a different way for people to discover the things they’re looking for on Pinterest, and perhaps, discover things they weren’t looking for, either.

Available on mobile for iPad, iPhone, and Android, guided search offers "descriptive guides" comprised of categories of places and things that are delivered as a person searches using a particular keyword phrase. Users can explore those guides as a way to refine their intent.

"Now when you search for something (road trips, running, summer BBQ), descriptive guides will help you sift through all the good ideas from other Pinners. Scroll through the guides and tap any that look interesting to steer your search in the right direction," Pinterest said in its announcement. 

Here’s how to use it (via Pinterest’s help files): 

Tap the search icon.Type in something you’re looking for in the search field.Tap any of the guides to help refine your search.Type in any extra search terms to get even more specific.

"Guided search is focused on discovery rather than finding," Naveen Gavini from Pinterest was quoted as saying in a TechCrunch report. "The serendipitous experience of finding things you didn’t know you were looking for is what makes it so special."

TechCrunch further explained the guided search process:

When users start a search, they can choose between pins, boards, and pinners. After they enter their initial search, Pinterest will show a slideable row of additional terms that can be tapped to refine a search. For example, a search of "Plants" will reveal suggestions like "for shade," "potted," and "keep mosquitos away." Even a relatively specific query like "hairstyles for medium length hair" will offer ways to go deeper still, such as "bangs."

Here’s a video of the search feature in action:

The comments on Pinterest’s blog announcement are mixed, but those with a marketer mindset are seeing the potential:

"We’re rolling this out on mobile in English to start," Pinterest said, "and then on Web and everywhere else around the world soon."

Pinterest also announced a couple of new milestones last week, as reported by TechCrunch: 30 billion user pins and 750 million boards created since launching.