Amazon Challenges Perplexity Over AI-Driven Shopping on Comet Browser
Amazon has issued a cease and desist notice to the AI startup Perplexity, demanding that it disable the Comet browser’s ability to make purchases on Amazon’s platform. This move stems from Amazon’s assertion that Comet’s automated shopping features breach its terms of service and undermine the integrity of the Amazon shopping experience.
Amazon’s Terms of Service and the Controversy
Amazon’s Conditions of Use explicitly forbid activities such as “downloading, copying, or other use of account information for the benefit of any third party,” as well as “data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.” Perplexity’s Comet browser, which stores user login credentials locally and executes Amazon purchases via simple commands, appears to conflict with these provisions. Although both companies agreed in November 2024 to suspend agentic shopping on Amazon, Perplexity re-enabled this functionality upon Comet’s launch, allegedly attempting to disguise the AI agent as a legitimate Chrome browser user to bypass Amazon’s restrictions. This subterfuge was eventually uncovered, prompting Amazon’s legal response.
Amazon’s Public Statement on the Dispute
Amazon addressed the issue in a blog post, emphasizing the importance of transparency and cooperation between third-party applications and service providers. The company highlighted that third-party apps facilitating purchases on behalf of customers should respect the policies of the businesses they interact with. Amazon cited examples such as food delivery platforms collaborating with restaurants and online travel agencies booking tickets, underscoring that Perplexity’s Comet browser degrades the shopping and customer service experience by circumventing these norms.
“We believe it is clear that third-party applications making purchases on behalf of customers should operate transparently and honor the service provider’s participation decisions. We have repeatedly requested Perplexity to remove Amazon from its Comet app, especially given the negative impact on shopping and customer service.”
Perplexity’s Position and the Broader AI Shopping Landscape
Perplexity disputes Amazon’s claims, arguing that Comet’s agent is fundamentally different from traditional web crawlers, scrapers, or bots. The startup maintains that the AI acts with explicit user consent, thereby not violating Amazon’s terms. This disagreement emerges amid growing competition in AI-powered shopping assistants, with Amazon unveiling its own AI tool, “Buy for Me,” in April 2025. Perplexity’s potential to become a competitor in the e-commerce space adds complexity to the dispute.
Similar Industry Conflicts Over AI and Data Access
This is not an isolated incident. In August, Cloudflare accused certain bots of masquerading as Chrome browsers on macOS to access websites that had blocked them. Additionally, Reddit recently filed lawsuits against Perplexity and three other companies for scraping Reddit posts without obtaining proper licenses. These cases highlight ongoing tensions between AI developers and content providers over data usage and access rights.
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