Amazon and Perplexity Clash Over AI Shopping: The Battle for the Future of Online Browsing

The competition between tech giants over the next frontier of online shopping has reached a boiling point. Amazon and Perplexity AI are now locked in a heated dispute over how artificial intelligence should interact with e-commerce platforms.

On Tuesday, Amazon publicly stated that it has “repeatedly requested” Perplexity to stop letting its AI browser, Comet, make purchases on behalf of customers. The e-commerce giant argues that this feature violates its platform policies and could compromise the quality of the customer experience.

Perplexity, however, fired back by accusing Amazon of “bullying” and trying to suppress innovation. The startup insists that its Comet AI browser — which can browse, compare, and even complete purchases from multiple websites including Amazon — empowers consumers by simplifying the shopping process.

In a post addressing Amazon’s legal actions, Perplexity said it had received an “aggressive legal threat” demanding the removal of Comet’s AI shopping capabilities. The company claims that Amazon’s objections run counter to its own public stance on AI partnerships.

“Amazon should love this. Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” Perplexity wrote in its blog post. “But Amazon doesn’t care. They’re more interested in serving you ads, sponsored results, and influencing your purchasing decisions with upsells and confusing offers.”

Perplexity also cited comments made by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy during a recent earnings call, where he expressed optimism about collaborating with “third-party agents” in the future. The AI startup argues that this statement contradicts Amazon’s current attempt to block Comet’s features.

In a sharp comparison, Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer said, “This is like if you went to a store and the store only allowed you to hire a personal shopper who worked for the store. That’s not a personal shopper — that’s a sales associate.”

Amazon, on the other hand, defended its position, saying that third-party applications that perform purchases on its site must adhere to its rules and respect its decision on whether to participate. The company emphasised that the Comet browser provides a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience” compared to Amazon’s native interface.

This conflict highlights a larger question facing the tech world: who controls the online shopping experience — the platform or the AI intermediary?

Perplexity’s Comet browser represents a growing trend of “agentic AI,” where intelligent assistants act autonomously on behalf of users. While this technology promises greater convenience, it also threatens traditional business models that rely on advertising and recommendation algorithms to drive sales.

For Amazon, allowing third-party AI agents to independently navigate and purchase within its ecosystem could mean losing control over how products are displayed, promoted, and priced. For Perplexity, restricting Comet’s capabilities could stifle what it views as the next evolution of user autonomy in the digital marketplace.

As both sides stand firm, this dispute may set a precedent for how AI-driven browsers and e-commerce giants coexist in the coming era of autonomous online shopping.