Amazon Sues Perplexity AI Over Shopping Bot “Comet” for Violating Platform Rules

Amazon has filed a federal lawsuit against Perplexity AI, marking a major escalation in the ongoing debate over artificial intelligence’s role in e-commerce. The tech giant accuses the San Francisco-based startup of violating its platform rules by allowing its AI agent, known as “Comet,” to make purchases on behalf of users without proper authorization.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in a U.S. federal court, Amazon alleged that Perplexity’s shopping tool committed computer fraud by disguising its automated activity as that of a real human shopper. According to the company, this not only breached its terms of service but also “degraded the Amazon shopping experience” and exposed customers to potential privacy risks.

The lawsuit follows a cease-and-desist letter Amazon sent last week, demanding that Perplexity stop the practice immediately. Industry watchers say the case could set a precedent for how “agentic AI” tools—designed to perform real-world actions like shopping, emailing, and researching—interact with major online platforms.

Perplexity, currently valued at about $20 billion, dismissed Amazon’s claims as a bullying tactic. “This just proves Amazon is a bully,” a company spokesperson told Bloomberg, adding that consumers should have the freedom to choose which AI assistants help them shop. The startup also accused Amazon of trying to stifle competition and innovation to protect its own AI-powered shopping products.

Ironically, Perplexity counts Amazon Web Services among its infrastructure providers and even has Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as an investor. Despite this connection, the dispute underscores the growing friction between large tech companies and AI startups over control of digital commerce—and could reshape how autonomous AI agents operate in the future.

source: nairametrics