How many stores still build their entire media plan on Meta and Google and leave Pinterest out of the conversation? This question helps to understand why Pinterest Presents 2026 deserves the attention of those who work with digital retail. The platform's annual event brought together advertisers from around the world and sent a clear message: Pinterest has matured as a performance channel, and paid traffic operations need to keep pace with this shift.
This is not a small audience. The platform closed the second quarter of 2026 with 640 million monthly active users (an all-time record and an 11% increase year-over-year) , according to Pinterest 's own quarterly report . These are people who come to plan purchases, not just to pass the time. Ignoring this channel, therefore, is to miss out on existing demand.
On this page you will find:
Pinterest Presents 2026 in five points
- Performance+ has gained controls to allow advertisers to better guide the algorithm: Prioritizing new clients, focusing on strategic products, and sending signals of interest and keywords.
- A/B testing is now configurable directly in Ads Manager., without relying on the Pinterest team.
- Measurement was a central theme, with emphasis on incrementality: To see the real impact of media, beyond just the last click.
- Visual Search Ads were the big announcement of the event. and they place brands within visual searches, which exceed 80 billion per month on the platform.
- The message about creativity was straightforward: The ad that pays off is the one that seems to be part of the Pinterest experience, not the one replicated from Meta.
What Pinterest Presents 2026 changes for advertisers.
The central theme of the event was the shift in the role of those who operate the campaigns . The account still demands strategy, but the strategy has changed its focus; it has moved from fine-tuning manual adjustments to defining good signals, objectives, and hypotheses that the algorithm then executes . The ads below, presented at the event, show how this translates in practice.
Performance+: more automation, more targeting
Performance+ has evolved to allow advertisers to guide the algorithm more precisely; three features focus on this logic.
New Customer Acquisition prioritizes acquiring new customers, useful when the goal is to expand the customer base and not just repeat purchases from those already familiar with the brand. Priority Products gives more weight to strategic products, launches, and collections (a valuable tool for monitoring sales dates). And Interest & Keyword Suggestions allow you to provide additional signals to the algorithm, bringing the segmentation closer to the real intent of the searcher.
In practice, the operation's job shifts from micromanaging segmentations to defining good signals, clear objectives, priority products, and hypotheses for the algorithm to work with quality material.
A/B testing is now self-service.
Pinterest has made A/B testing available directly in Ads Manager , eliminating the need for platform staff to set it up. The change seems technical, but it has a significant practical effect: it opens up opportunities for agencies to structure their own experiments.
The key is to test different creative approaches, messages, and formats, and document each lesson learned for future campaigns. This way, every account decision is based on data, not guesswork.
Incrementality: Beyond the Last Click
It was one of the strongest themes of the event, and perhaps the most relevant for agencies. The discussion reinforced that the last click does n't always capture the entirety of Pinterest's participation in the buying journey , precisely because the platform is very active in the discovery and consideration phases.
The concept presented was incrementality testing : instead of just looking at the correlation between media and conversion, measuring whether exposure to the ad actually generated a result that wouldn't have happened without it. Incremental testing shouldn't be a one-off thing either. The suggestion was to work in cycles (testing, diagnosis, account adjustment, audience and creative, and new testing), transforming measurement into a routine operation.
Visual Search Ads and the logic of visual search.
The big announcement at Pinterest Presents 2026 was Visual Search Ads , a format that positions brands within search results and in close-ups of Pins, combining keyword relevance with visual match. The context explains the bet: users perform more than 80 billion searches per month, most of them visual and more than half with commercial intent, according to Pinterest.
For retailers, the format brings the advertisement closer to the moment when a person compares options and decides . And it reinforces a point that ran throughout the event: on Pinterest, image and search go hand in hand.
Creatives need to be born for Pinterest.
Pinterest was emphatic in saying that the best-performing ads are those that feel like they're part of the platform's experience. In other words, it's not enough to simply take the same creative from Meta and replicate it there.
A good question to incorporate into account analytics is simple: was this creative adapted to Pinterest's behavior or simply repurposed from another channel? The answer usually explains a large part of the difference in results.
The cases that supported the thesis.
Three brands presented examples that gave concrete form to the new features.
Levi's tackled a familiar challenge: jeans have a low purchase frequency. Instead of targeting only those who already wanted to buy, the brand used Pinterest to leverage consideration and fashion trends, reaching consumers before the exact moment of decision. According to the case study presented, the content developed for Pinterest outperformed other paid social content in the brand's marketing mix modeling (MMM) analysis.
Samsung integrated a campaign into the Spider-Man universe , connecting the product to a cultural context. The reported result exceeded the industry benchmark in the mid-funnel.
Netflix, for Bridgerton, leveraged a Pinterest Predicts trend linked to opera aesthetics. According to the case study, communication contextualized with this trend generated more awareness than the version without this element.
What e-Plus brings to the operation
More than just a list of features, Pinterest Presents 2026 confirmed a direction for work that already guides our media management. Thinking about signals for the algorithm, not just manual settings. Creating a solid culture of testing and hypothesizing. Incorporating incrementality into results discussions when the case calls for it. Adapting each creative to the specific behavior of the platform. And using Pinterest also as a source of trends and insights for planning, not just as a space for ad placement.
The common denominator is that the role of operations is increasingly less about setting up campaigns and more about guiding algorithms, structuring tests, interpreting data, and transforming learning into decisions . It is this shift that separates those who merely display ads from those who actually make media pay off. To delve deeper into how to structure campaigns in this new scenario, it's also worth checking out the e-Plus blog article on paid traffic management.
Do you want to structure your Pinterest campaigns using this new logic?
The new features of Pinterest Presents 2026 open up opportunities for those who know how to guide the algorithm, test methodically, and read data beyond the last click. At e-Plus , that's exactly how we manage media. If your store wants to explore Pinterest Ads as a performance channel (or review what's already running today), talk to our team of experts . And, to stay up-to-date on what's changing in digital retail, follow the other content on our blog.
Frequently asked questions about Pinterest Presents 2026
What is Pinterest Presents?
Pinterest Presents is the platform's annual event aimed at advertisers and agencies. At the event, the company presents new ad formats, campaign tool updates, and brand case studies. The 2026 edition highlighted Visual Search Ads, the evolution of Performance+, and incremental measurement.
What are Pinterest Visual Search Ads?
Visual Search Ads are an ad format that positions brands within visual search results and close-ups of Pins. It combines keyword relevance with image matching, reaching those who are comparing products. It's Pinterest's main strategy for connecting advertising and visual discovery.
What is incremental testing in media?
Incrementality is the measurement of results that only exist because of the media. Instead of attributing the conversion to the last click, the test compares exposed and unexposed groups to isolate the real effect of the ad. It is especially useful on Pinterest, which heavily influences the discovery and consideration phases.
Is it worth investing in Pinterest Ads in 2026?
This makes sense for retail brands that want to reach consumers in the purchase consideration and planning phase. With 640 million monthly active users and strong commercial intent in searches, the platform expands the reach of those who currently rely solely on Meta and Google. Ideally, one should start with clear objectives and a testing routine.
