Amazon, the U.S.-based e-commerce giant, has issued a legal notice to AI search startup Perplexity, demanding it remove its agentic browser, Comet, from Amazon’s platform. The company claims Comet violates its terms of service by failing to identify itself as an AI agent. In a blog post titled “Bullying is not innovation,” Perplexity confirmed receiving a cease-and-desist letter, stating, “This week, Perplexity received an aggressive legal threat from Amazon, demanding we prohibit Comet users from using their AI assistants on Amazon.”
Perplexity argues that since its bot acts under user direction, it should hold “the same permissions” as human users. However, Amazon maintains that all third-party applications making purchases on behalf of customers “should operate openly and respect service provider decisions whether or not to participate.”
Amazon’s statement suggests Perplexity could comply by identifying its agent but warns that noncompliance could result in blocking Comet from its site. Perplexity alleges Amazon’s motive is to protect its advertising and product placement revenue, claiming bots do not engage with promotional content as human shoppers do. This dispute follows earlier accusations that Perplexity’s systems bypassed bot restrictions on websites, highlighting ongoing challenges as AI agents increasingly interact with online platforms.
