Amazon Blocks Perplexity AI Shopping Bots
๐กCourt blocks AI shopping bots on Amazonโkey legal risk for agentic e-com apps
โก 30-Second TL;DR
What Changed
Court rules against Perplexity's Comet agent
Why It Matters
This sets a legal precedent limiting AI agents in e-commerce, potentially slowing autonomous shopping tech development and forcing alternatives for web automation.
What To Do Next
Audit your AI web agents for Amazon ToS compliance before testing shopping automation.
Key Points
- โขCourt rules against Perplexity's Comet agent
- โขBlocks AI-driven purchases on Amazon.com
- โขTemporary halt on web browser shopping bots
๐ง Deep Insight
Background and context from public sources โ not the original article. 7 sources cited.
๐ Enhanced Key Takeaways
- โขAmazon first sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity in November 2024 demanding it stop deploying Comet agents, but Perplexity reactivated an updated version by August 2025, leading to blocks and workarounds.[1]
- โขAmazon accuses Perplexity of disguising Comet as ordinary Chrome browser users, violating terms of service against automated tools and constituting computer fraud by not disclosing autonomous actions.[1]
- โขPerplexity claims Comet only executes purchases under direct user instruction without scraping or training on Amazon data, accusing Amazon of trying to protect its advertising revenue from AI agents that bypass ads.[1][3]
- โขUS District Judge Maxine Chesney indicated on March 7, 2026, that she is inclined to grant Amazon's preliminary injunction but has not issued a final order yet.[2]
๐ฎ Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources
โณ Timeline
๐ Sources (7)
Factual claims are grounded in the sources below. Forward-looking analysis is AI-generated interpretation.
- the-decoder.com โ A Court Battle Over Perplexitys Comet Agent Could Define How AI Is Allowed to Shop Online for Users
- mlex.com โ Amazon Likely to Win US Injunction Blocking Perplexity AI Shopping Agent
- marketingbrew.com โ Perplexity Amazon Lawsuit Agentic AI Retail Media
- youtube.com โ Watch
- mealeys.com โ Amazon Perplexity Wage Battle Over Importance of Agentic AI Shopping Bots
- consumeraffairs.com โ Battle of the Robots Amazon Sues Perplexity AI Over Automated Shopping Tool 110525
- mlq.ai โ Amazon Issues Aggressive Legal Threats Against Perplexitys AI Shopping Browser
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Original source: Bloomberg Technology โ
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