Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity AI, alleging that the startup’s browser-based assistant, Comet, violated its terms of service by making purchases on Amazon without authorization.
According to Amazon, Comet acted on behalf of users to place orders without identifying itself, which the company claims amounted to computer fraud and breached its retail policies, which prohibit data mining, automated bots, or similar software tools from accessing or transacting on its platform.
Amazon further alleged that it warned Perplexity in November 2024 to stop using AI agents for purchases, and that the company initially complied but resumed the practice in August 2025.
The retail giant claims Comet disguised itself as a Google Chrome browser to evade detection, prompting Amazon to block it. Perplexity then allegedly released an update to bypass those restrictions.
In a statement on Tuesday, Amazon said third-party applications that conduct transactions on behalf of users must operate transparently and respect platform policies. “This helps ensure a positive customer experience,” the company said.
“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.”
In a statement titled “Bullying is Not Innovation,” Perplexity said Amazon’s actions represent a broader attempt to control how AI assistants operate online.
“Amazon announced it does not believe in your right to have an assistant acting on your behalf,” the company wrote in the post, describing the legal threat as “a bully tactic to scare disruptive companies out of making life better for people.”