Perplexity AI accuses Amazon of bullying with legal threat over Comet browser (www.cnbc.com)

Perplexity AI says it received an “aggressive legal threat” from Amazon demanding that Perplexity block users from using its Comet browser assistant to find and buy items on Amazon. Comet, launched in July and offered free worldwide in October, functions as a personal AI assistant that searches the web, organizes tabs, drafts messages and can complete purchases on behalf of users. Perplexity framed Amazon’s request as “bullying,” arguing that enabling easier shopping should increase transactions and benefit Amazon, while accusing the retailer of protecting ad- and sponsor-driven revenue and upsell mechanics instead. The dispute highlights a growing tension between AI agents that automate commerce and platform owners who monetize search and discovery. Amazon’s move matters because it could set precedents for how retailers regulate agent-driven transactions, whether via contractual terms, technical blocks, or legal pressure. It’s also notable that Amazon is rolling out competing AI shopping tools (Rufus and a tested “Buy For Me” agent), underscoring a potential conflict of interest. Technically, the fight raises questions about agents’ use of APIs or scraping, bot detection, transaction security, and where control over the purchasing flow should sit — with the user’s assistant or the merchant’s platform — with implications for competition, privacy and the open web.