The growing tension between big tech and emerging AI startups reached a boiling point this week as Amazon sued Perplexity AI, accusing the startup of covertly accessing customer accounts and masking automated activity as human behavior. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, centers around Perplexity’s “Comet AI” shopping agent, which Amazon claims violated its platform’s policies and posed security risks to user data.
The Reason ?
Amazon’s complaint targets Perplexity’s Comet browser and its integrated AI shopping assistant, which can autonomously browse, compare, and place orders for users. According to Amazon, this feature not only mimicked human users but also bypassed restrictions, entering areas of the Amazon ecosystem that third-party bots are not permitted to access.
“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon stated in its filing. “Its trespass involves code rather than a lockpick, but that makes it no less unlawful.” The retail giant said that Perplexity’s automation degraded the user experience, interfering with its personalized shopping system that Amazon has built and refined for decades.
Perplexity’s Defense: “Bullying by Big Tech”
In response, Perplexity accused Amazon of weaponizing its market dominance to stifle innovation in the AI space. The company said Amazon’s legal threats were a “broader attack on user choice and AI progress.”
“Bullying is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people,” Perplexity wrote in a public blog post.
The startup maintained that its Comet AI agent operates transparently, emphasizing that user credentials are stored locally on users’ devices and never transmitted to Perplexity’s servers. It further argued that its technology aims to simplify online tasks—from product comparisons to completing transactions—without compromising privacy.
Amazon’s Concerns: Data Security and Platform Integrity
Amazon’s central argument is that Perplexity’s system could compromise the security of customer accounts and disrupt the integrity of its e-commerce ecosystem. The company stressed that any third-party agent making purchases on behalf of users must do so openly and with the platform’s consent.
“Third-party apps making purchases for users should operate transparently and respect a business’s decision on participation,” Amazon said, adding that Perplexity’s automation “creates confusion and potential risks within the Amazon Store.”
Amazon is also developing its own suite of AI tools, including “Buy For Me”—an in-app feature for autonomous shopping—and “Rufus”, an AI assistant designed to enhance product discovery and cart management. Industry observers suggest Amazon views Comet AI as a competitive threat, especially in an era where AI agents are reshaping digital commerce.
A Larger Battle Over AI Autonomy
The lawsuit isn’t just about one startup—it’s part of a larger struggle over how AI agents should interact with the web. As more companies design autonomous systems capable of browsing, purchasing, and even decision-making, questions about transparency, consent, and control are gaining urgency.
Perplexity’s approach—enabling AI to act independently on behalf of users—sits at the heart of that controversy. Its defenders argue such autonomy represents the next stage of internet evolution, while critics fear it risks blurring accountability and inviting misuse of private data.
What’s Next for the Case
As of now, Perplexity has not issued an official statement regarding Amazon’s lawsuit beyond its earlier blog post. Legal experts suggest the case could set a precedent for how autonomous AI agents are regulated in e-commerce and beyond.
If the court sides with Amazon, it could restrict how AI tools interact with private online ecosystems, forcing startups to redesign their agentic models. On the other hand, a favorable ruling for Perplexity might open the floodgates for independent AI systems that perform actions across the web on users’ behalf—potentially reshaping the future of online interaction.
