Amazon is suing Perplexity, demanding the AI startup stop its Comet browser from making purchases on its site, as reported by CNBC. The lawsuit escalates a public battle that could set the rules for how AI agents operate on the web.
Bully pulpit: Perplexity fired back in a blog post, accusing the tech giant of "litigious bullying" to protect its lucrative advertising business. The startup’s position is that its AI agent is merely an extension of the user, and Amazon is more interested in serving ads than helping customers.
Deception and degradation: Amazon claims Perplexity is using "disguised or obscured" agents to gain unauthorized access. The e-commerce giant argues the tool provides a "degraded shopping experience" by bypassing its personalized recommendations and has repeatedly asked the startup to stop.
The $56 billion question: This fight isn't just about user experience; it's about control. As reported by Semafor, Amazon's ad business generated $56 billion last year, a revenue stream threatened by third-party agents that bypass its sponsored listings. Amazon is also developing its own AI shopping assistant, Rufus, signaling it wants to own the AI experience on its platform.
The lawsuit, Amazon.com Services LLC v. Perplexity AI, Inc., marks a major test for agentic AI, pitting a user's right to automate tasks against a platform's right to control its own ecosystem.
Also on our radar: The battle over AI agents is heating up across the industry, with Google now deploying its own agents to buy event tickets. This isn't Perplexity's only legal challenge either, as The Register reports Reddit has also sued the company over its agent's behavior. Meanwhile, a recent survey suggests the public may not even be ready for AI shoppers, with two-thirds of consumers unwilling to let an AI make purchases for them.
