Amazon Catches AI Playing Online Shoplifters, Calls Parental Units

KEY POINTS

•Amazon sued AI startup Perplexity in November for letting its Comet browser-based agents order products without permission.
•On Monday, Judge Maxine Chesney ruled that Perplexity’s Comet violates Amazon’s user privacy by accessing accounts unauthorized.
•The court order now blocks Perplexity from placing Amazon orders through its web browser AI agents.

In a saga thrilling enough to rival daytime soaps, U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney dropped the gavel on Perplexity’s Comet AI agents Monday, banning them from grab-and-go shopping on Amazon — apparently, without their human owners’ 'authorization'. Amazon, who’s been politely asking since November for Perplexity to stop letting their AI bots act like incognito shoplifters, claimed these digital agents were 'intruding' into user accounts and their marketplace with the subtlety of a techy paparazzo. This was no mild cease and desist sent via carrier pigeon; Amazon produced 'strong evidence' that these browser-based AI assistants were basically sneaking into accounts, ordering stuff left and right—probably even some things nobody knew they wanted yet. The judge’s ruling shut down the AI’s unauthorized retail therapy faster than Prime’s 2-day shipping.