Amazon has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, demanding it immediately halt the use of Comet AI agents in the Amazon Store.
In the letter, Amazon says the agents accessed the site and user accounts without authorization, violating its Conditions of Use and computer-misuse statutes.
Amazon alleges Perplexity disguised Comet as a Google Chrome browser and refused repeated requests to operate transparently, prompting Amazon to add security measures that Perplexity then worked around.
Amazon says transparency is a baseline requirement for any AI agents that make purchases on behalf of customers, citing the need to monitor activity that could degrade the shopping experience or create data-security risks.
“Perplexity must immediately cease using, enabling, or deploying Comet’s artificial intelligence (‘AI’) agents or any other means to covertly intrude into Amazon’s e-commerce websites… in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act…
As should already be clear… Perplexity does not have authorization to access Amazon’s store, Amazon user accounts, or account details, using its disguised or obscured Comet AI agents.”
Amazon also points to earlier conduct it says dates to November 2024, when Perplexity’s “Buy with Pro” feature placed orders via Perplexity-managed Amazon accounts, including Prime accounts, before agreeing to stop. The e-commerce titan says Perplexity later resumed deploying non-transparent agents that log into user accounts and interact with the store.
The letter warns that Comet AI’s activity could diminish pricing and delivery options and cites outside reports about security vulnerabilities, including prompt-injection risks. Amazon says Perplexity’s approach has imposed significant costs as it tracked, blocked and re-blocked the agent’s activity.
Amazon says it is ready to use all legal means if Perplexity continues with its agentic activities on its platforms.
Social media giant Reddit recently sued Perplexity, alleging that the AI firm illegally harvested user-generated content to train and power its artificial intelligence products.
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