Amazon Demands Perplexity Remove AI Shopping Browser “Comet”
Amazon has issued a firm takedown request to Perplexity, demanding the immediate removal of its AI-powered browser “Comet” from the company’s online marketplace. The tech giant accuses the AI shopping assistant of violating platform rules and failing to properly identify itself as a digital agent.
Conflict between Amazon and Perplexity
After several prior warnings, Amazon’s compliance team reportedly sent a “hard demand” instructing Perplexity to cease distributing Comet. The company argues that the AI tool breaches Amazon’s terms of service, which prohibit automated agents from performing commercial actions or misleading consumers by posing as human users.
Comet, developed by Perplexity, integrates a conversational AI agent capable of comparing prices, reading reviews, and completing purchases directly within the browser. Its autonomous decision-making capability — once touted as revolutionary — has now placed it in direct conflict with the world’s largest e-commerce platform.
Perplexity’s position
In response, Perplexity defended its product, suggesting Amazon’s decision was motivated by economic self-interest rather than consumer protection. The company claims that the marketplace giant fears disruption to its advertising model, since AI agents shop efficiently without exposure to promoted products or upselling techniques.
“As AI shopping assistants evolve, they make rational purchases — not emotional ones,” a Perplexity spokesperson stated. “That’s incompatible with platforms built on advertising incentives.”
AI agents and the retail dilemma
Analysts note that the conflict highlights a growing tension between automation and traditional retail economics. If AI buyers become widespread, they could fundamentally alter how online marketplaces generate profit, potentially cutting into ad revenue streams worth billions of dollars.
For Amazon, allowing an unregulated AI to make purchases autonomously could undermine its recommendation algorithms and distort demand forecasting. For Perplexity, however, Comet represents the next logical step in automating digital consumption — removing human bias and marketing manipulation from the buying process.
Ethics and regulation
The dispute also touches on emerging regulatory questions surrounding the transparency of AI agents. Under current U.S. and EU proposals, autonomous digital assistants must disclose their machine identity and operational purpose during user interactions. Amazon argues that Comet’s design violates this principle by failing to clearly announce itself as non-human during transactions.
Future outlook
Perplexity has yet to confirm whether it will comply with Amazon’s ultimatum or seek legal recourse. Experts believe that similar conflicts are inevitable as AI systems gain transactional autonomy and begin to challenge traditional digital-commerce structures.
If Comet disappears from Amazon’s ecosystem, it could accelerate the creation of alternative decentralized marketplaces optimized for AI-driven trading — a glimpse into a future where algorithms shop, negotiate, and consume entirely on behalf of humans.
Conclusion
Amazon’s demand to remove Perplexity’s AI browser Comet underscores a defining moment for e-commerce: the collision between human-centric advertising models and machine-rational consumption. As automation reshapes online retail, the balance between corporate profit and algorithmic efficiency may determine the future of digital marketplaces.
Editorial Team — CoinBotLab