Amazon has filed a lawsuit against AI startup Perplexity AI, accusing the company of covertly accessing Amazon customer accounts through its agentic shopping technology.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company alleges that Perplexity’s Comet browser and its connected AI agent breached the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.
According to Amazon, the tech created potential risks to customer information and continued operating despite repeated warnings to stop.
“Perplexity must immediately cease using, enabling or deploying Comet’s artificial intelligence agents or any other means to covertly intrude into Amazon’s e-commerce websites,” Amazon stated in the filing.
The retailer added that the unauthorised activity had imposed significant costs and interfered with customer relations, as it was forced to track and block repeated security breaches.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataAmazon states that it first detected Comet’s unauthorised use in August 2025.
Despite being notified, Perplexity allegedly released new versions of the browser to avoid detection.
The filing claims the issue dates back to November 2024, when the startup’s “Buy with Pro” tool placed orders via Amazon accounts managed by Perplexity, including Prime accounts, in violation of platform rules.
The complaint further alleges that Perplexity disguised its browser as Google Chrome and that its terms of use permit the collection of sensitive details such as passwords and payment data while denying liability for security breaches.
Perplexity has previously rejected Amazon’s accusations, arguing that the company is leveraging its market power to suppress competition.
Amazon said in a statement: “We think it’s fairly straightforward that third-party applications that offer to make purchases on behalf of customers from other businesses should operate openly and respect service provider decisions whether or not to participate.
“This helps ensure a positive customer experience and it is how others operate, including food delivery apps and the restaurants they take orders for, delivery service apps and the stores they shop from, and online travel agencies and the airlines they book tickets with for customers.
“Agentic third-party applications such as Perplexity’s Comet have the same obligations, and we’ve repeatedly requested that Perplexity remove Amazon from the Comet experience, particularly in light of the significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.”
