Pinterest tried to be a search engine that can help people in finding things that they didn't know they were looking for. When the company debuted Guided Search on mobile devices earlier in 2014, Pinterest said that it's a revolutionary way for users to consume and browse Pinterest, which CEO Ben Silbermann called the "world's largest human created collection of things."
The initial roll out was mobile focused because 75 percent of Pinterest usage is on smartphones and tablets. But later, Pinterest announced that Guided Search was to be for desktop as well.
Pinterest is seeing itself more into a personalized search site that can blend searches with new discoveries in compelling ways. With Guided Search, Pinterest consider itself better in answering users' questions if compared to traditional search engines, like for example Google.
Pinterest Head of Engineering Michael Lopp shared that the Guided Search vision is to fill the gap between an idea and a specific search. On a traditional search engine, people use the search feature by using keywords, and if they are out of keywords, they may have no purpose in searching because they don't know what they want. Pinterest called this the discover problem, and the company saw this "weakness" and tried to fill the gap.
Search engines are the ultimate place to be if you know what you're looking for. If you don't know what to browse, search engines are the wrong tool, according to Pinterest.
"There's a big opportunity to help people browse and discover ideas and projects before they’re ready for search phase," said Lopp.
After launching Guided Search, Pinterest has proven that its idea is great addition to the already massive community. The feature has been used by an increase of more than 25 percent per user, in which 75 percent of them came from mobile devices.
A "Clever" Search Engine
With improvements and additions, Pinterest that confirmed $200 million funding at $5 billion valuation earlier in 2014, tried a better personalized discovery experience. The Guided Search is trying to suggest to users that Pinterest is not just a website for content collection where people can scroll passively. Pinterest is making Guided Search as an alternative to Google for the topics they care about.
The main difference between Pinterest's Guided Search and standard search engines is that users are showed category suggestions as they explore. For example, if a user searches for "BBQ", Pinterest will show things in sub-categories such as "chicken", "backed", "grill" and so forth. This is Pinterest's way to build a search by using its understanding of how various things are linked together.
These additional keywords appear at the top of the webpage, and users can click on one or more terms to filter their search.
The dynamic interface on both mobile and desktop, allows users to feel welcome. The interface is more focused to serve new discoveries for users rather than searches. Pinterest team member Naveen Gavini explained that "Guided Search is focused on discovery rather than finding. The serendipitous experience of finding things you didn't know you were looking for is what makes it so special."
While the technology behind Guided Search is not revolutionary, the purpose actually is. With billions of pins from millions of users, Pinterest has a massive collection that can be categorized and sub-categorized. This has made Pinterest a more accessible place for users who don't know what to search for, deliberately consuming much of the users' time in browsing its database. As people are used to the feature, they will eventually look for more ways to spend more time discovering for new inspiration and delight.
And because on the internet people are always in a hurry, Pinterest's Guided Search is creating something that traditional search engines have yet to do: buying curiosity over matter.
