--- title: "Amazon Demands That AI Browser Stop Automatically Shopping on Behalf of Users" description: "The e-commerce giant sent a nasty cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, accusing it of \"computer fraud\" in violation of its policies." date: "2025-11-05" modified: "2025-11-05" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/amazon-perplexity-agent-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" - "Future Society" - "Jeff Bezos" - "The Industrialists" --- # Amazon Demands That AI Browser Stop Automatically Shopping on Behalf of Users ![The e-commerce giant sent a nasty cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, accusing it of "computer fraud" in violation of its policies.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* With more money flowing into AI development than ever before, web browsers powered by autonomous "AI agents" are hitting the market like crazy. One of the most popular is Comet, offered by the startup Perplexity. Though Comet promises to organize your emails, summarize webpages, and automate your searches, it's not without some glaring [ethical]() and [security flaws](). And if you *are* reckless enough to use it for some online shopping, not even the world's largest online retailer supports it. According [to *Bloomberg*](), Amazon is now taking legal action to prevent Perplexity's Comet from browsing its wares on behalf of users. The e-commerce giant recently sent a scathing cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, accusing it of "computer fraud" in violation of Amazon's terms of service. The legal notice also accused Perplexity of degrading the "Amazon shopping experience" and injecting privacy weak points into the shopping platform, anonymous sources told *Bloomberg*. Not content to let Amazon have the final word, Perplexity [clapped back]() against the tech giant in a blog post titled "Bullying is Not Innovation." "The point of technology is to make life better for people. We call it innovation, but it’s just the constant process of asking how to make things better," the Perplexity team wrote. "Bullying, on the other hand, is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people." Perplexity's post accused Amazon CEO Andy Jassy of prioritizing ads, sponsored results, and customer manipulation. "Amazon wants to eliminate user rights so that it can sell more ads right now and partner with AI agents designed to take advantage of users later," the company scolded. "It's not just bullying, it's bonkers." Jealousy is another likely explanation. The spat comes as Amazon rolls out it's "Buy for Me" service, a [proprietary AI agent]() that shops the site on behalf of users. According to Amazon, the Buy for Me agent can also search for branded items offered elsewhere on the web *through* Amazon's site, an effort to make the platform a one-stop shop for just about anything sold on the web. This push into automated shopping agents is part of a much larger trend, and one critics warn is fraught with risk. As [*Tech Policy Press* observed](), the rise of AI agents likely comes with a cascade of unintended consequences, like threats to personal data privacy and loss of control, not to mention complex ethical and policy dilemmas for society as a whole. Or if you don't care about any of that junk, at least consider that Amazon is itself rapidly becoming a haven for [AI-generated slop]() — an issue agents will [only make worse](). **More on AI:** *[The Percentage of Tasks AI Agents Are Currently Failing At May Spell Trouble for the Industry]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()