A U.S. appeals court has suspended a California judge’s order that had barred Perplexity AI Inc. from using its AI-powered shopping agent, Comet, on Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace.
The reprieve was issued by a two-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. How long it will last isn’t certain. Circuit Judges Eric Miller and Patrick Bumatay said the order will meet with more scrutiny, and a more permanent decision will be made at a later date.
Late in 2025, Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter asking the firm not to use its agentic technology to buy goods on its marketplace. Perplexity responded by saying Amazon was employing bullying tactics and was making “legal threats and intimidation to block innovation.”
Amazon claimed bots doing the buying “degraded” the shopping and customer service experience. More importantly, fewer human eyes on the products could mean a loss of advertising revenue. Amazon has its own bots to help users decide what to buy, but with Perplexity’s agentic buyer, users aren’t required to log into the platform.
“We believe users have the right to choose their own AI,” a Perplexity spokesperson said after the recent ruling. “Perplexity will keep fighting for that right.” The company had earlier criticized Amazon for trying to block methods for users attempting to get around “the pervasive advertising Amazon bombards” them with.
Amazon’s lawyers invoked the 1986 federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits unauthorized access to computer systems. The company also alleged Perplexity had breached California state anti-hacking law.
Perplexity pushed back, arguing that its agent wasn’t directly accessing Amazon’s systems; instead, it said, users themselves were doing so. “At bottom, the only relevant access to Amazon’s servers was by users of the Comet browser, not by Perplexity,” the company said. Perplexity also maintained that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not bar companies from accessing publicly available websites.
It’s expected to submit additional arguments to the 9th Circuit in April.
Photo: Unsplash
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