Amazon has issued a legal warning to the AI start-up Perplexity, asking it to remove its ‘agentic browser’ from the Amazon online store. The company confirmed the move after alleging that Perplexity’s AI-powered shopping assistant, called Comet, violated its service rules by failing to identify itself as an automated agent.
Amazon sends legal notice over AI browsing
In a statement released on Tuesday, both companies acknowledged that Amazon had sent a cease-and-desist notice to Perplexity. The letter came after several earlier warnings, with Amazon having maintained that the AI assistant was in breach of its platform policies. Perplexity disclosed the development through a blog post titled “Bullying is not innovation,” saying it received what it described as an “aggressive legal threat” from the e-commerce company.
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The blog post claimed that Amazon’s demand restricts users from using Comet to browse and shop through its platform. It also noted that this was Amazon’s first formal legal action against an AI company. Perplexity described the move as an attempt to limit user choice, stating that it raises broader concerns for internet users and those who develop AI-driven applications.
Disagreement over how AI agents should operate
Perplexity defended its system, saying that Comet only acts on instructions from human users. It argued that because of this, the AI has the same permissions as a person using a web browser and does not need to declare itself separately.
Amazon disagreed, stating that other third-party digital services acting on behalf of users, such as delivery apps and travel agencies, do identify themselves when working with partner businesses. The company added that all automated tools used for making purchases or collecting information must clearly disclose their identities.
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Furthermore, Amazon suggested that Perplexity could continue operating if it properly identified its AI tool. However, it also hinted that it may block Comet or similar agents in the future. The company said third-party applications must work transparently and respect the service provider’s decision about whether to participate.
Perplexity, on the other hand, accused Amazon of protecting its advertising-based business model. The AI startup claimed Amazon wants to maintain control over product visibility and sponsored listings. It argued that automated shopping bots, unlike human users, make direct purchases without being influenced by ads or product placements, reducing Amazon’s potential revenue.
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Broader concerns over AI web practices
This dispute follows earlier criticism against Perplexity. A few months ago, web security company Cloudflare accused the startup of scraping website data despite restrictions placed against AI crawlers. At the time, many users defended Perplexity, saying the AI tool accessed public websites only when prompted by users, similar to how a human browser would function.
However, Cloudflare’s findings also suggested that Perplexity used certain methods to bypass these restrictions, such as masking its identity to continue accessing content.
