Amazon lost a major legal battle over who controls the customer’s online shopping experience after a federal appeals court lifted an order blocking Perplexity’s AI shopping agent from operating on Amazon’s platform.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Amazon had not shown it was likely to prevail under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, vacating a preliminary injunction that had barred Perplexity’s Comet browser from accessing Amazon accounts and completing purchases for users.
The decision matters far beyond the two companies. Retailers have spent years controlling how shoppers search, compare products and respond to paid listings. AI agents threaten to move that relationship outside the retailer’s own interface by choosing products and completing transactions without the consumer scrolling through sponsored results, recommendations or promotional placements.
Amazon argued that Perplexity concealed automated activity, ignored platform restrictions and accessed customer accounts without authorization. Perplexity said users had authorized Comet to act on their behalf and accused Amazon of trying to protect advertising revenue by preventing shoppers from using independent AI tools.
The appeals court did not resolve the entire dispute, and Amazon can continue pursuing other legal claims. The ruling nevertheless weakens one of the most powerful arguments available to platforms seeking to block outside AI agents: that automated access authorized by a customer amounts to unlawful computer intrusion.
For online sellers, the commercial impact could arrive before the legal fight is finished. Product titles, pricing, inventory and delivery information may increasingly be evaluated by software rather than people, reducing the value of visual placement and making accurate structured data more important.
The larger contest is over who owns the customer relationship. Amazon wants AI shopping to happen through tools it controls, including Rufus and its own purchasing features. Perplexity and other AI companies are building assistants intended to move across retailers and select products independently.
Tuesday’s ruling gives those outside agents more room to operate and puts retailers on notice that blocking them may require more than platform rules and technical barriers.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.
