US court temporarily lifts ban on AI shopping assistant Perplexity on Amazon – TechCentral.ie

US court temporarily lifts ban on AI shopping assistant Perplexity on Amazon – TechCentral.ie

By Niall Kitson
Publication Date: 2026-08-06 08:32:00

AI shopping assistant can return to general use

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A US federal court of appeals has overturned the ruling that barred AI company Perplexity from using its AI shopping assistant on Amazon. This gives Perplexity provisional permission to keep the service running while the lawsuit continues.

The dispute began after Amazon filed a lawsuit against Perplexity in November. According to the online retailer, Perplexity used automated software via its Comet browser to make purchases on Amazon on behalf of users, despite technical blocks and a formal demand to stop doing so. Amazon argued that, by doing this, Perplexity violates the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and a Californian anti‑hacking law.

A federal judge had previously ruled in Amazon’s favour and imposed a preliminary injunction. This not only required Perplexity to stop approaching Amazon, but…