Amazon has directed AI startup Perplexity to withdraw its agentic shopping browser, Comet, from the Amazon Appstore after alleging repeated violations of its platform rules. Both companies confirmed the removal on Tuesday, highlighting growing friction between major e-commerce platforms and emerging AI-powered automation tools.
In a statement posted to its blog titled “Bullying is not innovation,” Perplexity claimed that Amazon leveraged its market power to stifle competition, alleging the tech giant issued an “aggressive legal threat” ordering the company to block Comet users from employing automated assistants on Amazon’s website. Perplexity framed the dispute as part of a broader debate over user autonomy on the internet.
Amazon, however, maintains that the issue is one of transparency and policy compliance. The company argues that Comet failed to disclose its identity as an automated agent when performing actions on the site—an expectation Amazon says is standard across digital services. It pointed to food delivery apps and travel booking platforms as examples of intermediaries that clearly identify themselves while interacting with third-party systems.
“The requirement is simple: applications acting on behalf of customers must identify themselves and respect platform decisions on whether to allow such activity,” Amazon said. The company also noted that it reserves the right to block automated purchasing tools entirely.
Perplexity disputes the framing, arguing that Amazon’s real concern is economic. The startup suggests that autonomous shopping agents could disrupt Amazon’s revenue streams by bypassing sponsored product placements and recommendation algorithms. For example, a bot comparison-shopping for household items would not be influenced by promotional listings or upsell tactics.
This dispute comes amid broader scrutiny of Perplexity’s data practices. Earlier in the year, Cloudflare accused the company of circumventing website opt-outs intended to block AI crawlers. While Perplexity asserted that it only accessed publicly available pages in direct response to user instructions, critics said the company did not always clearly identify itself while doing so.
The conflict underscores an emerging tension between platform control and AI-driven automation—particularly in online commerce, where discovery, ranking, and advertising represent major revenue drivers. As AI agents increasingly act on behalf of users, the boundaries of fair access, platform sovereignty, and economic incentives are likely to face further legal and regulatory challenges.
Recent Random Post:
