Amazon vs. Perplexity: Inside the legal battle that could redefine how AI shops for you

In Silicon Valley’s fast-evolving artificial intelligence landscape, a simmering tension between innovation and corporate control is beginning to surface in public view.

This week, Perplexity, the San Francisco–based AI search startup, accused Amazon of “bullying” after receiving what it described as an aggressive legal threat from the e-commerce giant. According to Perplexity, Amazon demanded that the company prohibit users of its Comet AI assistant from interacting with Amazon’s shopping platform—effectively blocking the tool from searching for and purchasing products on behalf of users.

The move marks what Perplexity called Amazon’s “first legal salvo against an AI company,” and underscores a growing conflict over who controls how people and intelligent systems interact online.

A Clash Over Digital Labor

For decades, software has been seen as a tool—something users own and operate. But as AI agents become more capable of performing complex tasks, from booking tickets to managing shopping lists, they increasingly resemble digital labor rather than mere instruments.

Perplexity argues that users have the same rights to deploy AI assistants as they do to use any other software. “The law is clear that large corporations have no right to stop you from owning wrenches,” the company wrote in a statement published Tuesday. “Amazon announced it does not believe in your right to hire labor, to have an assistant or an employee acting on your behalf.”

The Shopping Experience, Reimagined

At the center of the dispute is Comet, Perplexity’s AI-powered shopping assistant. When users instruct Comet to search for and purchase items on Amazon, it can automatically log in using locally stored credentials, find products, and complete transactions—all without human input.

To Perplexity, this is a convenience. To Amazon, it may represent an unapproved use of its platform.

Amazon has spent years refining its search and advertising systems, which heavily influence what products customers see and buy. On a recent earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy touted the company’s growing advertising business, saying it delivers “a return on advertising spend that’s very unusual.” He also hinted that Amazon plans to “partner with third-party agents” in the future—suggesting that the company may want tighter control over which AI systems operate within its ecosystem.

Perplexity, meanwhile, interprets Amazon’s actions as an attempt to protect ad revenue rather than consumers. “They’re more interested in serving ads and influencing purchasing decisions,” the company said. “It’s not just bullying, it’s bonkers.”

The Rise of the ‘User Agent’

At stake is a broader question about the future of “agentic AI”—intelligent assistants that can browse, buy, and act independently on behalf of users. Perplexity refers to these as user agents and argues that they deserve the same digital rights as their human operators.

The company has outlined three principles for such systems: they must be private, acting only with the user’s permissions; personal, working solely for the user rather than for corporate interests; and powerful, capable of executing tasks without artificial constraints imposed by dominant platforms.

“Publishers and corporations have no right to discriminate against users based on which AI they’ve chosen to represent them,” the company wrote. “Users must have the right to choose technologies that represent them.”

A Fight Over the Future of the Internet

The dispute touches on issues that have long shaped the digital economy—platform control, user autonomy, and the balance between innovation and regulation. Just as Apple has battled app developers over its App Store policies, and Google has faced scrutiny over search dominance, Amazon now finds itself in the middle of a new frontier: the age of AI intermediaries.

Perplexity insists it will not be “intimidated” and plans to continue developing Comet’s capabilities. “The rise of agentic AI presents a choice,” the company said. “Will this technology empower users to take control of their digital lives? Or will it become another tool for corporations to manipulate and exploit?”

For Amazon, the question may be less philosophical and more practical—how to preserve the integrity, and profitability, of a platform that processes billions of transactions a year.

But the confrontation hints at something larger: as AI systems evolve from answering questions to acting on users’ behalf, the boundaries between consumer rights and corporate ecosystems may need to be redrawn.

And for now, the battle lines are clear. On one side, tech giants seeking to guard their platforms. On the other, startups like Perplexity, betting that the next era of the internet will belong not to the companies, but to the users—and the intelligent agents that work for them.