Perplexity Asks Federal Court to Lift Amazon Shopping Agent Ban | PYMNTS.com

Perplexity is arguing that directing its AI agent to shop on Amazon is no different from opening a browser and visiting the site. Amazon has until April 22 to respond.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Maxine Chesney first issued the injunction on March 9, finding Amazon likely to win its claim that Comet accessed its platform without authorization. A stay on the ban was granted on Monday (March 30), pending appeal.

The Filing

In its appellate filing, Perplexity argued its users accessed Amazon through Comet, not Perplexity itself.

“A Comet user accessing Amazon from her own computer is no more equivalent to Perplexity accessing Amazon than a Safari user accessing Amazon from her own computer is equivalent to Apple accessing Amazon,” the company wrote.

Perplexity also argued that Amazon produced no evidence of actual harm during the eight months Comet operated freely: no lost sales, no decreased traffic and no record of a dissatisfied customer.

The dispute began in November, when Amazon sued Perplexity,…