Perplexity AI published a post alleging that Amazon sent an “aggressive legal threat” demanding that Perplexity prevent users of its Comet browser/assistant from using agents to shop on Amazon. Perplexity framed the move as a “threat to user choice.” Official post: Bullying is not innovation.

• Legal demand: Perplexity says Amazon required it to block agent-driven purchases on Amazon via Comet.
• Amazon’s response: Amazon published a blog post of its own, citing concerns about a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience.”
• Access clampdown: Amazon has recently limited or blocked AI crawlers from several companies while building its own shopping agents (e.g., Rufus, “Buy For Me”).
• Perplexity’s stance: The company says it “will not be intimidated,” calling Amazon a “corporate bully” prioritizing ads over user rights.

Why it matters: This highlights a growing collision between open web–dependent AI agents and platforms seeking to control the shopping experience (or build their own agents). If major platforms restrict access, it could introduce new friction into already complex agentic workflows.