On Tuesday, Amazon filed a lawsuit against a well-known artificial intelligence startup over a feature in its browser that enables users to automate purchases. Amazon alleged that Perplexity AI had illicitly accessed customer accounts and disguised the AI’s actions as human browsing.

“The misconduct by Perplexity must cease,” Amazon’s legal representatives stated. “Perplexity has no permission to act where it is forbidden. The intrusion involves a code rather than a lockpick, rendering it equally illegal.”

Perplexity, which has experienced significant growth in light of the AI assistant boom, previously accused Amazon of leveraging its dominant market position to suppress competition and dismissed Amazon’s allegations.

“Bullying occurs when larger companies employ legal threats and intimidation to stifle innovation and negatively impact people’s lives,” the company expressed in a blog post.

This dispute underscores new conversations regarding the regulation of the increasing use of AI agents, AI-powered autonomous digital assistants, and their interactions with websites.

In its legal action, Amazon accused Perplexity of secretly accessing Amazon’s private customer accounts via the Comet browser and associated AI agents, misrepresenting automated actions as human browsing. Amazon asserted that Perplexity’s systems endangered customer data and ignored repeated calls to shut them down.

“Instead of being transparent, Perplexity deliberately configures its CometAI software to mask Comet AI agent activity on Amazon’s platforms,” the company stated.

Amazon’s complaint also claimed that Perplexity’s Comet AI agent undermined the shopping experience for customers and hindered Amazon’s ability to guarantee that users benefiting from the agent receive the personalized shopping experience it has developed over decades.

In a previous statement, Amazon indicated that third-party applications making purchases on behalf of users should operate transparently and respect companies’ preferences for participation.

Perplexity had earlier revealed that it received legal threats from Amazon aimed at preventing Comet AI agents from shopping on its platform, asserting that this action poses a wider threat to user choice and the future of AI assistants.

Perplexity is among several AI startups that are restructuring web browsers to incorporate artificial intelligence, aiming to enhance user autonomy and simplify everyday online tasks, from composing emails to completing purchases.

Amazon is also developing similar functionalities, including Buy For Me, which enables users to shop across various brands within the app, and Rufus, an AI assistant that recommends products and manages shopping carts.

The Comet browser’s AI agent from Perplexity acts as a purchasing and comparison assistant for users. The company contends that user credentials are stored locally and not on its servers, asserting that users have the right to select their own AI assistant and framing Amazon’s actions as an attempt to safeguard its business model.

“Simplified shopping leads to more transactions and greater customer satisfaction,” Perplexity remarked. “However, Amazon is less focused on that and more on serving ads.”