Amazon wins court injunction to block Perplexity AI agent robot shopping

Recently, the AI startup Perplexity and global e-commerce giant Amazon have seen a key development in their lawsuit. The U.S. federal court officially approved Amazon’s request for a preliminary injunction this Monday. The injunction requires Perplexity to stop using its “Comet” AI browser proxy to log into the Amazon platform and automatically shop for users without authorization.

Core Dispute and Court Ruling in Amazon Lawsuit

Amazon accuses Perplexity’s “Comet” AI proxy of disguising itself as a regular browser to evade detection and automate order placement, alleging computer fraud. The federal court approved the preliminary injunction this week, with the judge emphasizing that even if Comet obtains user consent to operate on their behalf, since it is not officially authorized by Amazon, it must cease accessing Amazon systems and destroy related data. This ruling establishes a clear legal boundary between “user permission” and “platform authorization” for the first time. However, the effect of this decision is temporarily suspended for one week to allow Perplexity to appeal.

Defending Business Models and Digital Advertising Impact

From a macro industry perspective, this lawsuit is essentially a defensive battle by large platforms against existing business models. When AI proxies can automatically compare prices and check out, bypassing platform-designed recommendations and ad placements, Amazon’s advertising revenue could be directly affected. This not only threatens the profit engine of the e-commerce giant but also forces the marketing industry to reassess resource allocation and interaction strategies.

The Future of AI Proxy Commerce and Market Regulations

This ruling sets an initial compliance framework for the emerging “proxy-based commerce.” For investment markets and the AI industry, it signifies that technological innovation cannot indefinitely override platform service terms. In the future, AI proxies aiming for widespread commercial use will need to become transparent and obtain legitimate permissions through cooperation agreements with platforms. This event will also accelerate tech giants’ efforts to establish industry access standards and promote the creation of new regulations, seeking a business balance between technological innovation and platform data protection.

This article, “Amazon Wins Court Injunction to Block Perplexity AI Proxy Robots from Shopping,” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.