TLDR

• Amazon sued Perplexity AI in federal court Tuesday over its Comet shopping agent that makes purchases on Amazon’s platform
• The retailer says Perplexity disguised automated bots as human users and ignored requests to stop accessing customer accounts
• Perplexity claims Amazon is protecting its advertising revenue and trying to block competition in AI shopping assistants
• Amazon argues the startup violated terms of service and created security vulnerabilities for customer data
• The lawsuit may establish legal boundaries for how AI agents can interact with e-commerce websites

Amazon (AMZN) Stock: Retailer Launches Lawsuit Against Perplexity Over Shopping Bot

Amazon filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI on Tuesday in San Francisco federal court. The case targets the startup’s Comet browser agent that automates shopping on Amazon’s platform.

The legal action came days after Amazon sent a cease-and-desist letter. The retailer wants Perplexity to immediately stop using its shopping tool on Amazon’s site.

Amazon claims Perplexity secretly accessed customer accounts through Comet. The company says the startup made its bots look like regular human shoppers.

The retailer argues this creates security problems for users. Amazon also says Perplexity refused multiple requests to shut down the feature.

Court documents show Perplexity hid what its agent was doing. Amazon says the startup wasn’t honest about when Comet shopped for real people.

“Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot,” Amazon stated. The company added that breaking rules with code is still illegal.

Perplexity Fights Back

Perplexity hit back at Amazon’s claims. A spokesperson called the retailer a bully after the lawsuit was filed.

The startup wrote that Amazon uses legal pressure to stop innovation. Perplexity says shoppers should pick which AI assistant they want to use.

CEO Aravind Srinivas defended his company’s technology. He said AI agents deserve the same rights as human users.

Srinivas claims Comet doesn’t steal or copy data from Amazon. The startup says it only makes purchases when users ask.

Perplexity also accused Amazon of protecting its ad business. The company argued that better shopping tools mean more sales and happier customers.

The Battle Over AI Shopping

Amazon’s rules ban automated tools like bots and data scrapers. The company first told Perplexity to stop in November 2024.

Perplexity followed that demand initially. But by August, the startup launched its new Comet browser agent.

Comet pretended to be a Google Chrome user this time. When Amazon blocked it, Perplexity updated the software to get around the blocks.

Amazon says third-party apps need to be transparent. The retailer wants companies to respect its decisions about agent access.

Both companies are building their own AI shopping tools. Amazon has Buy For Me and Rufus for product recommendations.

CEO Andy Jassy talked about AI agents on an earnings call. He said the experience isn’t great yet but Amazon is talking to developers.

What This Means for AI

The case could set rules for AI agents going forward. It might decide how much these tools can do on websites without permission.

Perplexity has dealt with similar issues before. Publishers said the company used their articles without asking.

The startup was also accused of buying stolen Reddit data. Perplexity says it fights for user access to information.

The company is worth $20 billion now. It’s a major customer of Amazon Web Services with hundreds of millions in commitments.

Jeff Bezos invested in Perplexity. The startup built its business using Amazon’s cloud services.

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