Amazon Sent Legal Warning to Perplexity Over AI Shopping Assistant

Perplexity has accused Amazon of “bullying” after receiving a legal threat over its AI shopping assistant, Comet. The startup said Amazon sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding it stop users from using Comet to browse or shop on Amazon’s site.

The Dispute Over Agentic Browsing

Amazon claims that Comet violates its marketplace rules by failing to identify itself as an automated agent. Perplexity disagrees, arguing that Comet acts on behalf of human users and therefore has the same browsing rights as them.

In its blog post titled “Bullying is not innovation,” Perplexity said Amazon’s action represents “a threat to all internet users,” suggesting that the e-commerce giant wants to control how AI agents operate online.

Amazon Defends Its Position

Amazon, however, insists that transparency is key. The company said that third-party agents making purchases on behalf of customers must identify themselves clearly. It compared Perplexity’s bot to delivery and travel booking apps that always declare their identity when placing orders or bookings.

Amazon added that all third-party services should “operate openly and respect service provider decisions whether or not to participate.”

Possible Ban on Comet

The legal warning suggests that Amazon could block Comet or any similar AI-powered shopping assistant from its platform. Amazon already runs its own AI shopping bot, Rufus, giving it little incentive to allow rival agents to operate freely.

Perplexity, on the other hand, claims Amazon’s motive is commercial. It says AI agents don’t respond to ads or product placements, which could disrupt Amazon’s ad-driven business model.

Not Perplexity’s First Controversy

Earlier this year, Cloudflare accused Perplexity of scraping data from websites that had opted out of AI crawlers. While some users defended the company’s methods, others pointed out that its system occasionally hid its identity to access restricted pages.

The Bigger AI Battle Ahead

The latest clash underscores a growing debate over how AI agents should interact with websites. As more companies experiment with agentic AI, big platforms like Amazon are drawing clear lines around who can access their data — and how.

For Perplexity, the fight is about user choice. For Amazon, it’s about control and compliance. The outcome could shape the future of AI-driven browsing.