It’s not just a lawsuit; it’s a battle for control over how we shop online. Tech giant Amazon and AI startup Perplexity AI are facing off in what’s shaping up to be one of the most fascinating tech disputes of the year. The core issue? Who gets to decide how AI interacts with online stores, the platforms or the AI agents?
Amazon’s allegations: Unauthorized access & data scraping
Amazon claims that Perplexity’s new AI browser, Comet, was sneaking into its website, placing orders, and scraping product data, all without permission. According to Amazon, the AI agent was pretending to act like a human shopper, bypassing the company’s terms of service.
In response, Amazon sent a legal notice, accusing Perplexity of breaching its platform rules. The company argues this isn’t about competition; it’s about protecting its ecosystem and user security. Essentially, Amazon is saying, “We built this marketplace, and no AI tool should crawl through it without our consent.”
Perplexity fires back with an open letter
Perplexity didn’t stay quiet. The startup quickly responded, calling
Amazon’s actions
corporate bullying. In a public statement, Perplexity argued that its AI browser Comet is simply a smart shopping assistant designed to help users browse and buy products more efficiently from sites like Amazon.
They claim that user data and credentials stay private and that Comet doesn’t perform any unauthorised scraping. Instead, it streamlines the process for users finding deals, comparing products, and even initiating purchases on behalf of shoppers.
In Perplexity’s view, Amazon isn’t protecting users; it’s protecting its monopoly. The company believes that AI-powered shopping agents are the natural evolution of e-commerce, and Amazon just doesn’t want to lose control of that future.
Why this fight matter?
At its heart, this isn’t just about Amazon or Perplexity. It’s about how AI will change the way we shop online.
If we shop from platforms like Comet, the experience will be much more hassle-free.
But for companies like Amazon, that’s a nightmare scenario. It means losing the middleman advantage, fewer ad impressions, less user tracking, and potentially less profit. So while this may look like a simple legal tussle, it’s really a battle over the future of digital commerce.
The bigger picture
Amazon’s lawsuit signals how Big Tech might respond as AI-driven agents start reshaping user behaviour. Just as chatbots changed how we search, AI shopping tools could redefine how we buy.
If Amazon wins, platforms keep control. If Perplexity prevails, we move closer to a world where AI agents shop for us and companies no longer dictate how we interact with them. Either way, one thing’s clear: this isn’t the last time we’ll see Big Tech and AI startups collide over control of the internet’s next frontier.
