Observed Signal · Nov 5, 2025 · Policy Update · Source: OnlineMarketing.de · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Amazon vs Perplexity: AI Shopping Dispute
Amazon has issued a cease-and-desist against Perplexity's Comet AI browsing/agent, barring users from shopping on Amazon via Comet. Amazon argues the AI shopping approach lacks transparency and could violate legal safeguards, citing potential CFAA (18 U.S.C. § 1030) and California Penal Code § 502 violations. Perplexity counters that the move is a mobbing tactic aimed at stifling growth, defending Comet as a means to simplify shopping for users. The piece notes Amazon’s own AI shopping features (Help Me Decide, Rufus, Lens Live, AI Shopping Guides) and discusses broader implications for AI agents in e-commerce and advertising. It cites Shopify data showing a 7x increase in store traffic and an 8x rise in sales linked to AI tools since January 2025, and mentions Perplexity planning new features such as a virtual try-on. The article also references a Reddit lawsuit against Perplexity for content theft and situates the debate within the wider AI/ads competition context.
Policy Update from a major platform (Amazon) affecting AI shopping agents with potential industry impact.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Amazon issued a cease-and-desist to Perplexity to remove Comet from shopping on Amazon.
- Amazon claims Comet lacks transparency and could violate CFAA (18 U.S.C. § 1030) and California Penal Code § 502.
- Perplexity characterizes Amazon's move as mobbing and says it could hinder growth.
- Amazon highlights on-platform AI tools: Help Me Decide, Rufus, Lens Live, and AI Shopping Guides.
- Shopify reports a 7x increase in traffic and an 8x increase in sales linked to AI tools since January 2025.
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Amazon Blocks Perplexity's AI Tool in Legal Showdown
A federal judge granted Amazon a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Perplexity’s Comet AI browser from accessing Amazon’s website, after Amazon sued in November alleging Perplexity concealed its agents to continue scraping without authorization. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney said Amazon presented strong, essentially undisputed evidence of unauthorized access and of company resources spent (more than $5,000 and numerous employee hours) to block the tool and prevent future access. Amazon argued the agents pose security risks to customer accounts and create automated ad traffic that must be detected and filtered to protect advertiser billing and measurement. Perplexity called the lawsuit a "bully tactic" and said it will appeal; the ruling includes a one-week stay for appeal. The article notes Amazon has broadly blocked dozens of AI agents (including blocking access by ChatGPT) while investing in its own shopping assistant, Rufus.
US Court Lifts Amazon Ban on Perplexity
A U.S. appeals court on August 5, 2026 lifted a preliminary injunction that had barred Perplexity’s AI shopping agents from operating on Amazon, ruling in an emergency proceeding that the agents act on behalf of users and therefore do not clearly violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The court found Perplexity itself likely did not access Amazon’s systems without authorization because users directed the AI to their accounts. The decision — the first U.S. appellate ruling to address whether user-directed, agentic AI may lawfully access online platforms — applies only to the preliminary stage; the underlying lawsuit, in which Amazon sued in November alleging Perplexity’s Comet browser secretly accessed accounts and a federal judge temporarily blocked the agents in March, remains pending. Amazon says it disagrees and is evaluating further legal steps; the ruling has broad implications for e-commerce control, advertising monetization and legal treatment of AI assistants.
Amazon Sues Perplexity; Epic Settles with Google Over Fees
Amazon has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing Perplexity’s Comet AI of unlawfully accessing Amazon customer accounts and disguising bot activity as human interaction. Amazon requests that Perplexity block its Comet AI from shopping on Amazon, citing data and integrity risks. Epic Games and Google have proposed a settlement in their long-running antitrust dispute, expanding a prior injunction into a global framework through June 2032 that introduces Registered App Stores and reduced transaction fees. Google’s fees would drop to 20% or 9% depending on the transaction, with the option for developers using alternative payment methods to avoid Google’s billing fees. Separately, People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith) signed an AI licensing deal with Microsoft to be a launch partner in Microsoft’s publisher content marketplace, described as a pay-per-use model to compensate publishers for AI content usage. Neil Vogel, CEO of People Inc., framed the arrangement as a strong endorsement of the publishing marketplace and AI value of content.
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