Product design question
How would you increase engagement on Pinterest among users who browse but rarely save or pin content?
- Product design
- Medium
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What this question tests
Product design for converting passive browsers into active participants in a content platform.
How to approach it
- Clarify the target: users who open Pinterest and scroll or search but rarely tap save or the pin button.
- List reasons for low saving: unclear value of saving versus just viewing, or friction in the save flow itself.
- Segment by intent: users planning a project versus users idly browsing for inspiration, since motivation differs.
- Prioritize reducing friction first, like a faster one-tap save with smart board suggestions, before adding new features.
- Propose a nudge, such as a gentle prompt after repeated views of similar pins suggesting a board to start.
- Define success as save rate per session and board creation rate among previously passive users.
What a strong answer includes
- Distinguishes passive browsers from active planners with a clear behavioral signal, like repeat views without saves.
- Proposes a low friction fix, smart auto-suggested board names, rather than asking users to organize from scratch.
- Adds a soft nudge, like showing 'others saved this to Home Decor', which uses social proof without being pushy.
- Picks save rate and days-to-first-save as the metrics to validate the fix.
Common mistakes
- Adding gamification or badges without first fixing basic save flow friction.
- Assuming all browsers want to become savers instead of respecting that some just want to browse.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you avoid annoying users who genuinely prefer just browsing?
- How would you test if the nudge increased saves without hurting session length?
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 4: Discovery and strategy for AI products
- Chapter 7: AI UX and human oversight: design for a system that is wrong sometimes
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop