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

Appeals Court Ruling Pauses Amazon's Block on AI Shopping Tool

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily suspended a lower court's order that barred Perplexity AI from operating its AI agents on Amazon's e-commerce platform1

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. The administrative stay, issued Monday by Circuit Judges Eric Miller and Patrick Bumatay, allows Perplexity's Comet browser agent to continue functioning on Amazon while the appeals court considers the AI startup's request for a more permanent pause during its appeal2

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. "We believe users have the right to choose their own AI," a Perplexity spokesperson stated following the decision. "Perplexity will keep fighting for that right."1

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Amazon Lawsuit Centers on Security Risks and Anti-Hacking Laws

The Amazon lawsuit began in November when the e-commerce giant accused Perplexity of covertly accessing private customer accounts through its Comet browser and disguising automated activity as human browsing1

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. Amazon claimed the system posed security risks for customer data and that Perplexity had ignored repeated cease-and-desist requests to stop3

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. Amazon's lawyers invoked the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a 1986 federal law prohibiting unauthorized access to computer systems, along with California state anti-hacking laws2

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. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney granted Amazon's request for a preliminary injunction on March 9, ruling that Amazon provided "strong evidence" that Perplexity's actions violated terms of service3

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Perplexity AI Argues for User Rights and Innovation

Perplexity AI has pushed back aggressively, characterizing the Amazon lawsuit as a "bald attempt" to prevent users from bypassing Amazon's advertising. The company argued that its agent doesn't directly access Amazon's systems—instead, users themselves do. "At bottom, the only relevant access to Amazon's servers was by users of the Comet browser, not by Perplexity," the company stated2

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. In its appeal to the 9th Circuit, Perplexity warned that "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"1

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. The AI startup also maintained that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not bar companies from accessing publicly available websites2

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Agentic Commerce Battle Reflects Broader Industry Tensions

This litigation represents one of the first major courtroom tests of agentic commerce, where AI bots make purchasing decisions on behalf of users3

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. Amazon's concerns extend beyond data privacy and security risks to include potential loss of advertising revenue, as Perplexity AI shopping agents allow users to make purchases without logging into the platform or viewing Amazon's ads2

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. While Amazon has developed its own AI bots to assist with purchasing decisions, the company argues that third-party agents degrade the user experience. Other retailers are taking different approaches—Walmart and Target are testing ways to work with AI shopping platforms while maintaining their role in transactions3

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. Perplexity is expected to submit additional arguments to the 9th Circuit in April as the case continues to unfold2

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