Blake Montgomery
Amazon has sued Perplexity AI, a prominent artificial intelligence startup, over a shopping feature in that company’s browser that allows it to automate placing orders for users. Amazon accused Perplexity AI of covertly accessing customer accounts and disguising AI activity as human browsing.
The clash highlights an emerging debate over regulation of the growing use of AI agents, autonomous digital secretaries powered by AI, and their interaction with websites. Perplexity makes a browser called Comet, which includes an AI agent. Amazon does not want to allow Comet to shop for its users. The rejection has foundation in fact: Microsoft has found in research simulations that AI agents are quite susceptible to manipulation while shopping.
The suit raises a host of questions. Is Perplexity’s agent a rogue buyer with unacceptable security risks, or is Amazon bullying an insurgent competitor out of the game? Whose interests does a semi-autonomous AI agent represent, the customer or the agent’s maker, and who is liable for its misconduct? The next iteration of AI may hang in the balance of the suit.
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