Amazon has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing the fast-growing startup of secretly accessing private customer accounts through its Comet browser and associated AI agent. The e-commerce giant claimed the system disguised automated activity as human browsing, posing potential security risks to users.
Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit alleged that Perplexity’s “agentic” shopping feature, designed to place orders automatically for users, had ignored repeated warnings to stop accessing restricted areas of Amazon’s site.
“Rather than be transparent, Perplexity has purposely configured its CometAI software to not identify the Comet AI agent’s activities in the Amazon Store,” the company said in its filing. “Perplexity’s misconduct must end. 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.”
Amazon added that the Comet AI agent degraded customers’ shopping experience and interfered with its ability to maintain personalised recommendations built over decades. It also stressed that third-party apps conducting purchases should operate transparently and respect businesses’ right to opt out.
Perplexity, which has gained traction amid the rise of AI assistants, has denied any wrongdoing. The company earlier said Amazon’s actions were an attempt to stifle competition and limit consumer choice.
“Bullying is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post, calling Amazon’s move a broader threat to the future of AI assistants.
The startup added that its users’ credentials remain stored locally, not on its servers, and that its Comet browser allows customers to make purchases and comparisons autonomously. “Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” it said. “But Amazon doesn’t care, they’re more interested in serving you ads.”
The dispute underscores a growing debate over how autonomous AI agents interact with commercial websites. Both companies are developing tools in this space, Amazon with its “Buy For Me” feature and “Rufus” AI shopping assistant and Perplexity with Comet, which positions itself as a user-focused browsing alternative.
Reuters
