Judge Orders Perplexity to Block Its AI Agents from Placing Orders on Amazon

Amazon has secured a major win in its lawsuit against Perplexity. A federal judge has ordered Perplexity to block its AI agents from placing orders on Amazon without permission.

In the lawsuit filed in November, Amazon accused Perplexity of using its Comet AI browser to covertly access the Amazon website and users’ accounts to place orders on their behalf. Before filing the complaint, Amazon had also sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter accusing it of disguising Comet as Chrome to ensure its AI agents could avoid detection.

On Monday, US District Judge Maxine Chesney passed a ruling in favor of Amazon. Chesney wrote that Amazon had provided “strong evidence” to support its claim and ordered Perplexity to block its AI agents from entering the website and placing orders on behalf of customers.

The judge also asked Perplexity to destroy all the Amazon website and customer data it has collected thus far using its AI agents.

Amazon has welcomed the preliminary injunction. It is “an important step in maintaining a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers,” a spokesperson tells Bloomberg. “We look forward to continuing to make our case in court,” the spokesperson added.

Perplexity, on the other hand, said that it “will continue to fight for the right of internet users to choose whatever AI they want.”

For the e-commerce giant, the case could also be about protecting its…