Appeals court pauses Amazon's ban on Perplexity AI shopping agents in agentic commerce battle

Court temporarily allows Perplexity AI shopping 'agents' on Amazon

March 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has put a California judge's ruling on hold that had blocked Perplexity AI from using its artificial-intelligence-powered "agentic" shopping tool on Amazon's platform. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted, opens new tab the order on Monday while it considers Perplexity's request for a longer-term pause that would last through its appeal of the district court's decision. "We believe users have the right to choose their own AI," a Perplexity spokesperson said on Tuesday. "Perplexity will keep fighting for that right." An Amazon spokesperson ⁠declined to comment. Amazon sued Perplexity in November, accusing the AI startup of covertly accessing private Amazon customer accounts through its Comet browser and associated AI agent, and of disguising automated activity as human browsing. The lawsuit said Perplexity's system posed security risks for customer data and that it had ignored repeated requests to stop. Perplexity responded that the lawsuit lacked merit and was a "bald attempt" to block Amazon users from using Comet because AI agents "don't have eyeballs to see the pervasive advertising Amazon bombards its users with." U.S. ⁠District Judge Maxine Chesney on March 9 granted Amazon's request for a preliminary order blocking Perplexity AI's agents from accessing the e-commerce giant's platform. "Enjoining the use of Perplexity's signature product on one of the Internet's most important websites would cause devastating harm to the company and ⁠consumers alike," Perplexity told the 9th Circuit in its request to pause the order. The appeals court on Monday granted Perplexity's motion for an administrative stay of the order while the circuit considers ⁠its request. The case is Amazon.com Services LLC v. Perplexity AI Inc., 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 26-1444. For Amazon: Moez Kaba, Hagan Scotten, Christine Woodin, Lisa ⁠Chen and Youzhihang Deng of Hueston Hennigan For Perplexity: John Quinn, Daniel Posner and Jonathan Kim of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Amazon sues Perplexity over 'agentic' shopping tool Amazon wins order blocking access for Perplexity's AI shopping 'agent' Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Litigation * Data Privacy * Appellate * Intellectual Property Blake Brittain Thomson Reuters Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, for Reuters Legal. He has previously written for Bloomberg Law and Thomson Reuters Practical Law and practiced as an attorney.

Court rules Perplexity's AI bots can stay on Amazon - SiliconANGLE

A U.S. appeals court has suspended a California judge's order that had barred Perplexity AI Inc. from using its AI-powered shopping agent, Comet, on Amazon.com Inc.'s marketplace. The reprieve was issued by a two-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. How long it will last isn't certain. Circuit Judges Eric Miller and Patrick Bumatay said the order will meet with more scrutiny, and a more permanent decision will be made at a later date. Late in 2025, Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter asking the firm not to use its agentic technology to buy goods on its marketplace. Perplexity responded by saying Amazon was employing bullying tactics and was making "legal threats and intimidation to block innovation." Amazon claimed bots doing the buying "degraded" the shopping and customer service experience. More importantly, fewer human eyes on the products could mean a loss of advertising revenue. Amazon has its own bots to help users decide what to buy, but with Perplexity's agentic buyer, users aren't required to log into the platform. "We believe users have the right to choose their own AI," a Perplexity spokesperson said after the recent ruling. "Perplexity will keep fighting for that right." The company had earlier criticized Amazon for trying to block methods for users attempting to get around "the pervasive advertising Amazon bombards" them with. Amazon's lawyers invoked the 1986 federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits unauthorized access to computer systems. The company also alleged Perplexity had breached California state anti-hacking law. Perplexity pushed back, arguing that its agent wasn't directly accessing Amazon's systems; instead, it said, users themselves were doing so. "At bottom, the only relevant access to Amazon's servers was by users of the Comet browser, not by Perplexity," the company said. Perplexity also maintained that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not bar companies from accessing publicly available websites. It's expected to submit additional arguments to the 9th Circuit in April.

Court Blocks Amazon Ban on Perplexity AI Agents | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The lower court's order will remain paused until the appeals court has considered Perplexity's appeal, according to the report. A Perplexity spokesperson told Bloomberg: "We will continue to fight for people's right to choose their own AI." Amazon declined to comment on the ruling, per the report. Reuters reported Tuesday that in its request to pause the lower court's order, Perplexity told the appeals court: "Enjoining the use of Perplexity's signature product on one of the internet's most important websites would cause devastating harm to the company and consumers alike." PYMNTS reported in November that Amazon fired the first volley in this legal battle with a cease-and-desist letter against Perplexity that accused the company of violating its terms of service and of potentially breaching federal and California computer fraud statutes. Perplexity rejected Amazon's accusations in a blog post in which it described Amazon's action as an attempt to block independent AI tools from operating across the open web. The company wrote that "large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation" and argued that its Comet browser acts only on behalf of the user. Amazon secured the temporary injunction to stop Perplexity's AI agent from shopping and making purchases on its site on March 9. A federal judge ruled that Amazon provided "strong evidence" that Perplexity's Comet browser accessed its site without authorization from Amazon, and that Amazon had shown "a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim." At the same time, the judge paused the order for a week so Perplexity could appeal it. PYMNTS reported March 11 that this case is shaping up to be one of the first major courtroom tests of agentic commerce. The larger backdrop to the legal battle between Amazon and Perplexity is that other retailers are taking a more experimental approach. Walmart and Target, for example, are testing ways to work with AI shopping platforms while preserving their own role in the transaction.