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Pinterest

Pinterest

United by Interests, Sowing Inspiration

phase2 employee working on computer
Pinner in creative room

The Spirit of Self-Service

Since the advent of the internet, the demand for digital self-service has exploded. Users expect a seamless experience with every Pinterest interaction, from creating a board, to paying to promote a pin, to troubleshooting any challenges they encounter.

While core product experiences were top-notch, Pinterest identified challenges with their help desk system that were causing lags in problem resolution for pinners and advertisers alike—a major barrier to smooth self-service and the spread of inspiration. So, they asked Phase2, a digital agency rooted in transforming the digital experience, to recreate Help.Pinterest.com along with several other supporting web properties.

Pinterest help site screens

High Functioning, AI-powered Search

Phase2 went to work deconstructing the barriers to smooth self-service. The first step was to eliminate the long, laborious list of FAQs that made up Help.Pinterest.com. Building on a canonical design system Phase2 developed for other Pinterest web properties, Phase2 architected and implemented an intuitive, predictive search tool for Help.Pinterest.com. The new, faster, smarter search tool harnessed the power of AI and natural language processing to predict and suggest search queries, quickly directing users to the answers they seek.  

Phase2 implemented this approach with a standardized design system that handles RTL (right to left) as well as Cyrillic languages. Customers are now presented with the correct theme and dynamically generated pricing information based on their geographic location. Phase2 also developed a multilingual editorial experience with multilingual tutorials so editors could get help in their native languages. 

The newly internationalized platform enabled a more streamlined content publishing system while ensuring that WW customers received culturally relevant content in a consistently branded interface.

Pinterest collage

Conditional Logic for Critical Issues

To complement the new lightweight, fast, and improved Pinterest Help Center experience, Phase2 recreated contact forms with conditional logic. Now, users with critical issues that can’t be solved via the Help Center can quickly document and submit the right information to Pinterest’s internal help desk system, greatly speeding up the support team’s workflow and eliminating lags in resolution.

Pinterest help experience

Applying User Modeling to Improve Experiences

To take self-service to a whole new level, Pinterest sought a way to better understand user behavior without disrupting the pinner and advertiser experience. The solution—advanced user behavior modeling across a myriad of Pinterest-owned web properties.

Phase2 created a master data schema to map, capture, and track user events. The ever-evolving data schema product integrates Segment’s CDP into client-facing web technologies, internal business intelligence, and KPI monitoring tools. Using this combination of services, Pinterest is now able to analyze data on the fly using anonymized customer profiles interacting across Pinterest’s digital brand. 

Tracking behaviors at scale requires detailed planning, deliberate data design, and collaboration between technology, data, and content. The insights gleaned quickly translated to smarter business and support product decisions, breaking down more barriers to seamless, self-sufficient inspiration-spreading experiences. 

I was never surprised by anything. At any point I could find project data, design updates, or any status I needed.

Michelle Lee | Pinterest team member

A Bright, Inspiration-Fueled Future

Pinterest and Phase2 have similar missions—both seek to harness the power of technology and spread inspiration through a friction-free digital experience. With the Help.Pinterest.com initiative and the creation of a complex user modeling system, Phase2 was able to provide Pinterest with the tools it needed to embrace and enhance the spirit of self-service that today’s pinners and advertisers expect. Phase2 has been a Pinterest partner for over many years and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. 

Pinterest logo
Explore, Save, Share

Every month, over 400 million people visit Pinterest to explore, save, and share billions of pieces of visual content. And whether users are looking for home decor ideas, recipes, photography styles, tattoo designs, sports tips, logo graphics, and so much more—they’re all united by one common theme: inspiration.


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