Federal Judge Blocks Perplexity AI Agents From Shopping on Amazon

A federal judge has issued an injunction blocking Perplexity's Comet browser from placing orders on Amazon through its AI shopping agents. US District Judge Maxine Chesney ruled that Amazon provided "strong evidence" that Perplexity's agentic shopping feature accessed user accounts "without authorization" from the retailer. The ruling comes after Amazon sued Perplexity in November, alleging the AI startup repeatedly ignored requests to stop letting its agents purchase products on behalf of customers. Amazon accused Perplexity of "intruding" into its marketplace and user accounts through Comet's autonomous shopping capabilities. The company had previously sent cease-and-desist letters that went unheeded. The case sets an early legal precedent for AI agents operating in e-commerce. specifically whether an AI startup can build tools that autonomously interact with another company's platform without permission. As AI agents become more capable of performing transactions, the ruling signals courts are willing to draw boundaries around unauthorized automated access to commercial platforms.