Pinterest CEO Bill Ready has said that the future of “agentic shopping,” where artificial intelligence autonomously completes purchases for consumers, is still distant and not ready for mainstream adoption. Speaking in a recent interview, Ready stressed that while AI tools are evolving rapidly, consumer trust and technology maturity are not yet at a stage to fully automate the buying process.
The concept of agentic shopping envisions AI-powered assistants handling the entire shopping journey from discovering a product to completing the transaction without requiring user input at each step. While some early forms of AI shopping assistants exist, Ready believes they still lack the precision, personalization and reliability to meet user expectations at scale.
Pinterest, which has been integrating more AI features to improve product discovery, visual search and personalized recommendations, is taking a more measured approach. Ready noted that the platform aims to assist users in making confident purchasing decisions, rather than replacing their involvement entirely.
Pinterest’s cautious stance comes as other tech companies explore similar AI-driven shopping technologies. However, concerns remain over data privacy, potential bias in recommendations and the need for transparency in AI-driven decisions.
Key highlights:
- Pinterest CEO says full AI-driven agentic shopping is still years away.
- Current AI shopping tools lack precision and full consumer trust.
- Pinterest is focused on enhancing discovery, not replacing user choice.
- Privacy, personalization, and transparency remain top priorities.
