# Microsoft Advertising vs Pinterest: feed requirements compared

Microsoft Advertising and Pinterest sit at opposite ends of how demanding a feed specification can be while using the same vocabulary. Microsoft wants the Google taxonomy and a strict identifier chain and can reject items outright; Pinterest treats nearly all of that as optional and cares about the image instead.

- **Canonical URL:** https://www.feedlab.io/knowledge/compare/microsoft-bing-vs-pinterest
- **Last reviewed:** 18 September 2026
- **Source:** feedlab knowledge base
- **Licence:** free to quote and cite with attribution to feedlab


## Short answer

Feeding Pinterest from a Microsoft feed is close to free, because Pinterest's requirements are a subset. The reverse is substantial: you would be adding a taxonomy mapping and identifier coverage that Pinterest never asked for, against a channel that rejects rather than warns.

## Attributes treated differently

| Attribute | Microsoft Advertising | Pinterest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `brand` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `gtin` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `item_group_id` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `mpn` | Required in some cases | Optional |

## Every attribute, side by side

| Attribute | Microsoft Advertising | Pinterest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `availability` | Required | Required |
| `brand` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `condition` | Optional | Optional |
| `custom_label_0` | Optional | Not documented here |
| `description` | Required | Required |
| `google_product_category` | Recommended | Not documented here |
| `gtin` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `id` | Required | Required |
| `identifier_exists` | Optional | Not documented here |
| `image_link` | Required | Required |
| `item_group_id` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `link` | Required | Required |
| `mpn` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `price` | Required | Required |
| `sale_price` | Optional | Optional |
| `title` | Required | Required |


## Differences a table cannot show

### Microsoft rejects where Pinterest shrugs

Microsoft expects the gtin, mpn and brand chain and can reject items that fail it, which is stricter even than Google's warning behaviour. Pinterest treats all three as optional. The same own-brand catalogue can be almost entirely rejected on one channel and entirely fine on the other.

### Only one of them uses a product taxonomy

Microsoft accepts Google's product category taxonomy and uses it for placement. Pinterest does not take that attribute at all and classifies from the title, description and image. The taxonomy mapping is required work for one and dead weight for the other.

### Market structure differs

Microsoft works from one catalogue per market you configure in Merchant Center. Pinterest expects a separate data source per country and language pair. A multi-market store ends up with a different number of generated files for each channel.

### Both fetch daily, but Pinterest lets you choose when

Neither offers a sub-daily schedule, so both are structurally a day behind at worst. Pinterest lets you pick the fetch time, which means regeneration can be aligned to it precisely. That control is the only scheduling advantage either channel has.

### The image carries different weight

On Microsoft the image is a thumbnail in a text-led ad unit. On Pinterest it is the entire listing, displayed large, where a landscape theme crop visibly underperforms a vertical one. The same image_link value is adequate on one channel and a missed opportunity on the other.




## Reusing one feed for the other channel

1. **Publish the Microsoft mapping to Pinterest unchanged** — Everything Pinterest needs is already in a Microsoft feed, and the extra attributes are ignored rather than rejected. Confirm ingestion first, then improve.
2. **Split the feed per country and language** — One data source per market, each with its own currency, prices and URLs. Microsoft handles markets in its own settings, so this structure does not exist yet in your pipeline.
3. **Pick the Pinterest image deliberately** — Check what image_link resolves to today. If it is a theme-resized landscape image, map a portrait or square alternative for Pinterest only, from a metafield or a second product image.
4. **Regenerate immediately before the Pinterest fetch** — Set the fetch time in Pinterest, then schedule generation just ahead of it. The two channels should not share one regeneration slot, because their fetch times are unrelated.
5. **Keep identifiers and the taxonomy in the output** — Pinterest ignores both, but they cost nothing to carry and they are what keeps one mapping serving both channels. Stripping fields per channel is how two feeds start diverging.







## Frequently asked questions

### Is a Microsoft Advertising feed enough for Pinterest?

Yes, in terms of attributes: Pinterest requires strictly less. The two changes worth making are splitting the feed by country and language, and choosing a better-shaped image for a channel where the image is the listing.

### Does Pinterest use google_product_category?

No. Microsoft accepts the Google taxonomy values, Pinterest does not take the attribute at all and classifies items from the title, description and image instead.

### Which channel is stricter about product identifiers?

Microsoft, by a long way. It expects the gtin, mpn and brand chain and can reject items outright, while Pinterest treats all three as optional.

### How often do these two channels fetch a feed?

Both once a day. Pinterest lets you choose the time, which is worth using: regenerate shortly before the fetch rather than on an unrelated schedule.




## Primary sources

- [Microsoft: Feed file guidelines](https://help.ads.microsoft.com/#apex/ads/en/56895/1)
- [Pinterest: Data source ingestion and formatting](https://help.pinterest.com/en/business/article/data-source-ingestion)