Amazon.com, Inc has been alleged to have bullied AI start-up Perplexity AI when the e-commerce corporation created a legal threat to remove the shopping assistant functionality of the Comet browser by Perplexity AI.
Perplexity claims that the motive of the move is an effort by Amazon to stifle rivalry within the self sufficient AI sales prospect.
What’s the Conflict About?
The core of the controversy is the browser of Perplexity that is called Comet, which contains an AI agent that can browse, compare, and even buy items in online shops on behalf of a user.
The matter is amazon alleges it receives purchases being made on its platform without Comet disclosing that it is acting as an AI agent, violating its terms of service.
That is why Amazon issued a cease and desist letter to ask Perplexity to halt its AI agent from purchasing goods via Amazon.
According to the e-commerce firm, permitting such autonomous agents will invalidate user experience and the participation that the firm holds in its marketplace.
Perplexity responded with a blog post declaring the action of Amazon to be bullying and a threat to user choice and innovation.
Perplexity has justified its tool by stating that the AI acts on the instruction of the user, and all user credentials are stored locally (not on Perplexity servers).
The company has a point that the agent is merely doing what a user can do manually, and that is crippling its future as the AI assistants.
In the meantime, Amazon is only receptive to third party tools having made it clear that they need to indicate their status and adhere to the rules of the platform.
This struggle between Perplexity and Amazon is more than a startup vs giant narrative, illustrating more essential issues regarding the potential interactions between AI assistants and major platforms in the future. In case self driven machines such as Comet are widespread, then online shopping can become human operated or AI-operated.
But the likes of Amazon are concerned that this change would lead to a decline in advertisement revenue, influence over suggestions, and even the erosion of the personalized experience that they boast about.
To consumers, the consequence will define the free will of AI assistants to act on their behalf. Are they merely aids to guide you through the browsing, or are they taking more and more of the work of purchase, of booking, or of decision making?
The decider could be the willingness of companies such as Perplexity to go extreme in terms of being on the edge and the position of platforms such as Amazon to maintain control.
To the tech community at large, the controversy is an indication of new regulatory and business model troubles:
- Is it necessary that AI agents be transparent when performing under instructions of users?
- Will AI bots, like human users, be treated fairly in the marketplaces?
- Will platforms limit or censor AI agents in an attempt to safeguard revenue or user experience?
The case might serve as the precedent of the platform dealing with third-party AI assistants and the freedom they have.
What to Watch Going Forward
The question that is on the minds of the watchers is what will come next, will Amazon take full legal action, or will it compromise with Perplexity?
Will Perplexity acquiesce or respond to the request in court? What will regulators do to bots that imitate the behavior of a human being when shopping and browsing?
Until then, Perplexity keeps selling its vision of a future in which users freely choose their AI assistants.
In the meantime, Amazon seems to be making a boundary, the third party agents need to observe the rules and do not disrespect the environment of the platform, otherwise, they might be blocked.
To date, this controversy is a bright illustration of how the introduction of agentic AI (tools that work on our behalf independently) is becoming a new issue in law, business, and technology.
