Legal Obstacle: AI Bot Barred from Amazon Shopping in Early Agentic Commerce Trial

Amazon Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Perplexity’s Comet Browser

In a recent development, a federal judge in San Francisco has granted Amazon a preliminary injunction against Perplexity. This injunction blocks the use of Perplexity’s Comet browser’s AI agent to access password-protected sections of the Amazon website for shopping on behalf of customers.

This legal battle sheds light on the emerging field of agentic commerce, where AI assistants browse, compare, and purchase products on behalf of consumers. The case raises a crucial question: who holds the reins when an AI agent approaches a retailer’s digital doorstep?

The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney suggests that Amazon is likely to succeed in its claims against Perplexity for violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and a California computer fraud statute.

One of the key findings in the ruling is that Comet gains access to Amazon accounts with the user’s permission but without authorization from Amazon itself.

Perplexity, on the other hand, argued in its legal filings that Amazon’s primary concern is eliminating a competitor to its AI shopping tools rather than cybersecurity. The startup claimed that Amazon’s motive behind the lawsuit is to safeguard its advertising revenue.

Amazon contended that Perplexity intentionally masked Comet’s AI agent as a regular Google Chrome browser session to evade detection instead of transparently identifying itself. The e-commerce giant notified Perplexity multiple times to cease this practice, implemented technical barriers, and witnessed Perplexity releasing software updates to bypass them.

An Amazon spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the preliminary injunction, stating that it will prevent unauthorized access to the Amazon store, ensuring a trusted shopping experience for customers.

Perplexity is yet to comment publicly on the injunction. However, in previous statements, the company denounced the lawsuit as a bullying tactic and advocated for consumers’ freedom to use any AI assistant for online shopping.

Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged the potential of agentic commerce but highlighted the current limitations in personalization and pricing accuracy of AI agents. Amazon itself offers AI shopping tools like Rufus and Buy For Me.

Following the ruling, the injunction is temporarily stayed for seven days to allow Perplexity to appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge denied Perplexity’s request for a $1 billion bond, emphasizing that the injunction does not threaten the entirety of Perplexity’s business.