A federal judge has granted Amazon a preliminary injunction against the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, temporarily blocking the company’s AI shopping bots from accessing password-protected Amazon accounts. This legal victory prevents Perplexity’s Comet web browser from placing orders on behalf of users or navigating the e-commerce giant’s restricted systems while ongoing litigation proceeds.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in a San Francisco federal court, represents a significant development in the clash between retail platforms and automated artificial intelligence tools. Under the terms of the court order, Perplexity is required to halt all unauthorized access to the Amazon store and destroy any website data its agents have already collected. However, the judge issued a seven-day administrative stay, delaying the ban’s immediate enforcement to give Perplexity the opportunity to file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Core of the Legal Dispute
The conflict centers on how Perplexity’s Comet browser interacts with Amazon’s marketplace. The startup designed its browser to act as a shopping agent, allowing the artificial intelligence to log into user accounts, navigate the platform, and make purchases. Perplexity maintained that because shoppers voluntarily provided their login credentials, the AI agent inherited the user’s permissions and operated with their full consent.
Judge Chesney rejected this argument during the preliminary stage of the case. In her order, the judge noted that Amazon presented strong evidence showing that while the Comet browser had permission from the individual users, it completely lacked authorization from Amazon itself. The court established a clear distinction between a shopper’s consent and the platform’s authorization, ruling that giving an AI tool login details does not grant that tool the right to bypass the retailer’s automated access rules.
Amazon Warns of Security and Trust Risks
Amazon has consistently argued that Perplexity’s unauthorized scraping and automated purchasing create severe problems for its business and its customers. According to the company’s legal filings, the AI agents generated invalid advertising traffic that had to be filtered out and posed unacceptable security risks for sensitive customer data.
Representatives for the e-commerce company claimed that requiring shoppers to expose their login information to a third-party browser with documented security vulnerabilities diminishes consumer confidence. The company’s attorneys described this erosion of customer trust and the degradation of the shopping experience as a quintessential irreparable harm. Furthermore, the judge observed that the financial expenses Amazon incurred while attempting to block and detect Comet’s unauthorized access were essentially undisputed.
An Amazon spokesperson stated that the preliminary injunction will prevent unauthorized access and serves as an important step in maintaining a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers. Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy previously mentioned on an earnings call that the company expects to partner with third-party artificial intelligence agents in the future, but those partnerships must happen on Amazon’s own terms, with agents properly identifying themselves and operating with platform consent.
Perplexity Defends Its Shopping Agent
Perplexity strongly opposed the injunction, arguing that Amazon failed to demonstrate that its fraud claims would ultimately succeed in court. The startup characterized Amazon’s legal actions as a bully tactic and pushed back against a cease-and-desist letter with a public blog post titled “Bullying is not innovation.”
The artificial intelligence firm insists its tools are designed to serve consumers and streamline the e-commerce experience. Following the judge’s decision, a representative for Perplexity stated that the company will continue to fight for the right of internet users to choose whatever AI they want. The startup has already signaled its intention to appeal the temporary block.
Timeline of the Lawsuit and Allegations
The legal confrontation escalated late last year after Amazon attempted to halt the automated activity outside of court. While sources present slightly differing timelines—some noting a cease-and-desist letter was sent in October, while others point to actions in November—it is clear that Amazon filed its formal lawsuit in November.
In the lawsuit, Amazon accused the San Francisco-based private AI firm of attempting to disguise the Comet tool as a standard Chrome browser to scrape data without permission. The e-commerce company claimed these actions violate both its terms of service and federal laws, specifically citing the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.
Judge Chesney concluded that Amazon is likely to succeed on the merits of these claims. She also noted that without court intervention, Perplexity made it clear it would continue engaging in the challenged conduct. For now, the temporary block remains paused for the brief appeal window, but the case highlights the growing friction between traditional e-commerce security measures and the rapidly advancing capabilities of automated shopping assistants.
