March 19, 2026
Appeals Court Clears Perplexity AI’s Shopping Agent to Run on Amazon, For Now
A federal appeals court has temporarily restored Perplexity AI’s ability to operate its agentic shopping tool on Amazon’s platform, pausing a lower court ruling that had ordered the startup to stop.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay on Monday, putting on hold a March 9 ruling by a U.S. District Judge that had granted Amazon’s request for a preliminary injunction. The appeals court will now consider Perplexity’s request for a longer stay that would remain in place throughout the full appeal process.
The development marks the latest turn in a legal dispute that touches on some of the most contested questions in AI right now: who controls how AI agents interact with digital platforms, and what rights users have to choose the tools they use.
How the Dispute Began
Amazon filed suit against Perplexity in November, alleging that the AI company’s Comet browser and its associated shopping agent were accessing private customer accounts without authorisation. Amazon claimed the system disguised automated activity as human browsing, a practice the company said created security risks for customer data. According to Amazon, it had repeatedly asked Perplexity to stop before turning to the courts.
Amazon also argued the behaviour damaged the customer experience on its platform, raising concerns about the integrity of how shoppers interact with the site.
Perplexity dismissed the lawsuit as without merit, calling it a “bald attempt” to prevent Amazon users from accessing Comet. The company argued its AI agent simply does not display the advertising that Amazon relies on to monetise its platform, and that Amazon’s legal move was less about security and more about protecting that revenue stream.
The Case for User Choice
In its request to the appeals court, Perplexity warned that blocking its flagship product from one of the internet’s most visited websites would cause severe harm to both the company and consumers.
“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,” the company told the court.
Following the stay, a Perplexity spokesperson stated: “We believe users have the right to choose their own AI. Perplexity will keep fighting for that right.”
The Bigger Picture for AI Agents and Retail
The rise of AI agents acting as intermediaries between shoppers and retailers raises fundamental questions about how digital commerce works, particularly for brands that depend on platform visibility to reach customers.
It is rare for a federal court to directly restrict how an AI tool operates on a commercial platform, and the original ruling underlined just how far the legal system still has to go in catching up with AI.
If Amazon’s position ultimately prevails, it could give large platforms significant power to determine which AI tools are allowed to interact with their ecosystems. If Perplexity wins, it may set a precedent that users and AI providers can operate independently of platform restrictions, even when those platforms argue the behaviour is unauthorised or harmful.
