Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly a catalyst for transformative change, but does it exacerbate existing problems, reflect the world as it is, or move us toward a brighter future? If we want to build a better world with this technology, we have to do so by combining AI with a soft human touch.

AI has long been used to help tech platforms create captivating and personalized experiences for their users. Most of these companies engage through enragement: Their AI-infused algorithms connect with their audiences through negative emotions like envy, fear and hate to perpetuate a toxic cycle. At Pinterest, our AI is built on humanity’s better instincts.

We set out to give AI a different objective: to focus on inspiring and positive ideas that people want to save and actually do, not just scroll through. When we updated our AI to prioritize that content, we noticed the content shifted to action-driven recommendations like step-by-step guides, self-care tips, and motivational quotes. These types of recommendations are exactly what our half a billion users come to Pinterest for—to find the inspiration to create a life they love in a positive place online.

Our AI innovations came years before AI became a buzzword. In 2018 we saw our users cleverly navigating our search tools to find content that truly reflected them. They’d add extra descriptions like “summer style ideas plus-size” or “Black women’s hairstyles” to get results that felt personally relevant. But we knew our users really wanted to feel recognized right from the start, without any extra effort. That insight kicked off a journey of listening, learning, and creating that we’re still on today.

In 2018, we introduced skin tone ranges to search, which allows users to find inspiration relevant to them. In 2021, we added a hair pattern search tool to reflect a multitude of hair types. The enthusiastic feedback was confirmation that we were going in the right direction, but the tools didn’t fully deliver on our vision. Fast forward to September 2023, and we rolled out a new addition to our AI innovations: body type technology. 

With computer vision AI, Pinterest can now consider shape, size, and form to identify various body types in our more than 3.5 billion images on the platform. We have already seen that people who use body type ranges had a 66% higher engagement rate per session on Pinterest than those who haven’t used the tool. 

Our users can now see a more inclusive feed and more diverse search results right when they open the app. Search for “date night looks” and you’ll see results that are filled with a greater range of body types and skin tones. No extra work required. 

We’re also investing in our AI capabilities to further enhance our ad stack. This includes identifying and surfacing relevant and inspirational Pins and ads to improve the user experience. As of Investor Day in 2023, first-party search ad relevance is up 30%. Our newest ad offering is Pinterest Performance+, which uses AI and automation features to decrease campaign creation time significantly, with 50% less inputs required. 

We believe it’s possible to embrace technological advancements that enhance algorithms, make apps more personalized and support a successful business model based on positivity. In our last earnings call, we reported a 21% year-over-year increase in revenue and reached an all-time high of 522 million monthly active users globally, with Gen Z as our largest and fastest-growing audience. 

But tuning our AI for positivity and inclusion is not a situation in which we want to win, especially in today’s world where we scroll a mile a day on our phones. As artificial intelligence penetrates deeper into the fabric of our lives, it is critical that we are all building AI features to be additive, not addictive – ones that prioritize inspiration and intent, not unlimited views and time spent. 

Elizabeth Luke leads brand communications at Pinterest, where she manages public relations and communications efforts demonstrating Pinterest’s influence and impact as a platform for advertisers. She is a USC Annenberg alumnae, and is currently an adjunct professor. She is a member of the USC Center for PR board of advisers.