In November 2025, Amazon took legal action against AI startup Perplexity, insisting that the latter halt the use of its AI browser agent, Comet, for shopping on behalf of users on Amazon's platform. Amazon alleged that Perplexity's AI agent did not reveal its identity when making purchases for users, which was in violation of Amazon's service terms. This practice not only disrupted the shopping experience but also posed potential privacy risks.

Prior to this lawsuit, Amazon had already sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity. However, Perplexity was accused of concealing the agent's identity and circumventing the restrictions imposed by Amazon.

In response, Perplexity claimed that Amazon was trying to stifle competition and restrict users' choices, arguing that AI agents should be granted the same rights as human users. On the other hand, Amazon stressed that third-party applications engaging in shopping activities on behalf of customers must operate transparently and abide by the platform's decisions.

It's also worth noting that Amazon is in the process of developing its own AI shopping agent. Therefore, this lawsuit could potentially establish a legal precedent regarding the scope of application for AI agents.