The conflict illustrates a growing debate over the regulation of smart agents, increasingly autonomous AIs capable of performing online tasks on behalf of users.
Perplexity, which is growing rapidly in the AI assistant market, rejects the accusations made by the e-commerce giant, which it accuses of wanting to stifle competition. The complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Amazon denounces "illegal practices"
In its complaint, Amazon accuses Perplexity of illegally accessing customer accounts via its Comet browser and associated AI agent, while concealing these actions behind behavior that simulates human browsing.
According to Amazon, this system poses a risk to data security and violates its rules, despite several warnings.
"Perplexity deliberately configured its CometAI software to mask its agent's activity in the Amazon store," the company says. "This behavior must stop. The fact that the intrusion is via computer code rather than a crowbar does not make it any less illegal."
Perplexity had already denounced Amazon's legal threats, calling them an attempt at intimidation. In a blog post, the company wrote: "When big companies use legal threats to block innovation, it's called harassment."
Amazon also accuses CometAI of damaging the user experience and interfering with its personalized recommendations, which are the result of decades of optimization. It points out that third-party applications must act transparently and respect the choices of platforms.
Perplexity defends its model
Like other startups in the sector, Perplexity wants to reinvent web browsing through artificial intelligence, automating tasks such as online shopping and writing emails.
Amazon is also working on similar tools, including "Buy For Me," which enables users to make cross-brand purchases from its app, and "Rufus," an AI assistant that guides customers in their choices.
Comet, Perplexity's browser, acts as an assistant that can compare products and make purchases on behalf of the user. The company claims that customer credentials are stored locally, never on its servers.
