Amazon sued a prominent artificial intelligence startup on Tuesday over a shopping feature in the company’s browser, which can automate placing orders for users. Amazon accused Perplexity AI of covertly accessing customer accounts and disguising AI activity as human browsing.
“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon’s lawyers wrote. “Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot; that Perplexity’s trespass involves code rather than a lockpick makes it no less unlawful.”
Perplexity, which has grown rapidly amid the boom in AI assistants, has previously rejected the US shopping company’s claims, accusing Amazon of using its market dominance to stifle competition.
“Bullying is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people,” the company wrote in a blogpost.
The clash highlights an emerging debate over regulation of the growing use of AI agents, autonomous digital secretaries powered by AI, and their interaction with websites.
In the suit, Amazon accused Perplexity of covertly accessing private Amazon customer accounts through its Comet browser and associated AI agent and of disguising automated activity as human browsing. Perplexity’s system posed security risks to customer data, Amazon alleged, and the startup had ignored repeated requests to stop.
“Rather than be transparent, Perplexity has purposefully configured its CometAI software to not identify the Comet AI agent’s activities in the Amazon Store,” it said.
In the complaint, Amazon accused Perplexity’s Comet AI agent of degrading customers’ shopping experience and interfering with its ability to ensure customers who use the agent benefit from the tailored shopping experience Amazon curated over decades.
Third-party apps making purchases for users should operate openly and respect businesses’ decisions on whether to participate, Amazon said in an earlier statement.
Perplexity earlier said it had received a legal threat from Amazon demanding that it block the Comet AI agent from shopping on the platform, calling the move a broader threat to user choice and the future of AI assistants.
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Perplexity is among many AI startups seeking to reorient the web browser around artificial intelligence, aiming to make it more autonomous and capable of handling everyday online activities, from drafting emails to completing purchases.
Amazon is also developing similar tools, such as “Buy For Me”, which lets users shop across brands within its app, and Rufus, an AI assistant to recommend items and manage carts.
The AI agent on Perplexity’s Comet browser acts as an assistant that can make purchases and comparisons for users. The startup said user credentials remain stored locally and never on its servers. The startup said users had the right to choose their own AI assistants, portraying Amazon’s move as an attempt to protect its business model.
“Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” Perplexity added. “But Amazon doesn’t care, they’re more interested in serving you ads.”
