Pinterest Calls ‘Code Reds’ to Revive Growth Amid AI Threat

For the past three years, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready appeared to have secured a second chance for the scrapbooking app to prove itself to Wall Street. All that evaporated on Thursday night, when weaker fourth-quarter ad revenue prompted a sell-off that drove shares down 17% to their lowest level since April 2020.

Even before the earnings report came out, Ready was racing to revive the company’s slowing ad business while also ensuring users don’t ditch Pinterest boards for AI chatbots. Since late January, Pinterest has initiated a series of “code red” projects to accelerate work on existing features aimed at boosting key metrics like user and revenue growth as well as advertisers’ return on their spending, two current employees said. Pinterest has also been pushing staff to quickly incorporate AI tools into the app, a former employee said.