Amazon (AMZN) Stock: Company Takes Legal Action Against Perplexity Over AI Shopping Agent

TLDR

• Amazon filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI on Tuesday to stop its Comet shopping agent from making purchases on Amazon’s platform
• Amazon claims Perplexity’s agent accessed customer accounts without proper disclosure and disguised automated activity as human browsing
• Perplexity called Amazon a bully and said the company is trying to stifle competition and limit user choice in AI assistants
• Amazon accused Perplexity of ignoring repeated requests to stop using the agent and creating security risks for customer data
• The case could set important precedents for how AI agents interact with websites and perform tasks on behalf of users

Amazon filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday. The complaint demands the startup stop its Comet browser agent from making purchases on Amazon’s platform.

The lawsuit marks the latest battle between traditional tech companies and AI startups. It comes after Amazon sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity last Friday.

Amazon claims Perplexity’s Comet agent secretly accessed customer accounts. The company says the startup disguised automated activity as regular human browsing.

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The retailer argues this creates security risks for customer data. Amazon also says Perplexity ignored multiple requests to stop the practice.

According to court documents, Perplexity configured its system to hide the agent’s activities. Amazon stated the startup was not transparent about when Comet was shopping on behalf of real people.

Perplexity pushed back hard against the allegations. The startup’s spokesperson called Amazon a bully following the lawsuit filing.

The company wrote in a blog post that Amazon was using legal threats to block innovation. Perplexity said users should be able to choose their preferred AI assistant for shopping.

The Technical Details Behind the Dispute

Amazon’s terms of service prohibit data mining, robots, and similar automated tools. The company first asked Perplexity to stop using shopping agents in November 2024.

Perplexity initially complied with that request. However, by August 2025, the startup deployed its new Comet browser agent.

This time, Comet identified itself as a Google Chrome browser user. When Amazon tried to block the bots, Perplexity released a new version to bypass the security measures.

Amazon accused Perplexity of violating its terms by failing to disclose when Comet shops for users. The retailer argues third-party apps should operate openly and respect business decisions.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas defended the company’s approach. He said agents should have the same rights as human users.

Srinivas argued it’s not Amazon’s job to determine the difference. He claimed Comet doesn’t train or scrape information from Amazon.

The startup says user credentials stay stored locally and never reach Perplexity’s servers. Perplexity also accused Amazon of trying to protect its advertising business.

AI Agents and the Future of Shopping

The dispute highlights questions about how AI agents will interact with websites. Both companies are developing their own AI shopping tools.

Amazon offers Buy For Me, which lets shoppers purchase from brand sites within its app. The company also has Rufus, an AI assistant that recommends products and manages carts.

CEO Andy Jassy discussed AI shopping agents on a recent earnings call. He said the customer experience wasn’t good yet due to lack of personalization.

Jassy mentioned Amazon was having conversations with third-party agent builders. He suggested the company would find ways to partner with some services.

The lawsuit could establish legal boundaries for AI agents. It may determine how far these tools can go in performing real-world tasks.

Perplexity has faced similar controversies before. Publishers accused the company of using their content without permission.

The startup was also accused of buying illegally scraped data from Reddit. Perplexity previously said it fights for users’ rights to access public knowledge.

The company is valued at $20 billion. It counts Amazon Web Services as a major customer with hundreds of millions in commitments.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has invested in Perplexity. The startup uses Amazon’s cloud infrastructure for its AI operations.

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