Amazon sues Perplexity over AI shopping tool it says secretly accessed customer accounts
Amazon has sued AI startup Perplexity, accusing it of secretly accessing Amazon customer accounts and disguising automated shopping activity as human browsing through its “Comet” AI agent.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, claims Perplexity’s automated shopping feature — which can place orders for users — posed security risks and ignored repeated warnings from Amazon to stop. The retail giant says the AI tool interfered with Amazon’s ability to deliver its personalized shopping experience, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Perplexity has previously denied wrongdoing, arguing Amazon is trying to shut down competition and limit user choice in AI assistants. The startup called the move “bullying” and accused Amazon of protecting an ad-driven business model rather than consumer experience.
The case highlights a growing legal and ethical debate around autonomous “agentic” AI — systems designed to independently browse, shop, and perform online tasks for users. While Perplexity says user credentials remain stored locally on devices, Amazon argues AI shopping tools must operate transparently and respect platform rules.
Amazon is simultaneously building its own AI shopping tools, including “Buy For Me” and its in-app assistant “Rufus,” intensifying the battle to shape the future of e-commerce automation.
As AI agents become more capable, the lawsuit could help set early rules for how bots are allowed to interact with online stores — and how much power consumers should have to choose their digital assistants.
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