A California federal judge has granted Amazon a preliminary injunction against the AI search engine Perplexity, ordering it to immediately cease using its AI agents to access the e-commerce giant’s website.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney, stems from a complaint filed by Amazon alleging that Perplexity’s new “Comet” browser was circumventing security measures to automate shopping on its platform. The court found that Amazon presented "strong evidence" that Perplexity accessed its site without authorization, scraping product data and potentially facilitating purchases in a way that violates the company's terms of service.
The injunction, which will take effect in seven days, specifically prohibits Perplexity from accessing or attempting to access Amazon’s e-commerce platform using automated AI agents. Furthermore, the court has ordered the AI firm to destroy any and all data that was obtained through this alleged unauthorized access. Perplexity has been given a 30-day window to file a declaration confirming its compliance with the court’s order.
The legal action is the culmination of a dispute that began in November 2025, when Amazon sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity. At that time, Amazon accused the company of “evading Amazon’s technological measures” designed to identify and block scrapers. Amazon argued that such transparency is vital to maintain a secure and trusted environment, allowing the company to monitor AI agents that could degrade the customer experience or create security risks.
However, Perplexity is not going quietly. According to reports from Reuters, the AI browser maker filed an appeal on Tuesday, just one day after the injunction was granted. In a statement to the publication, a Perplexity spokesperson pushed back against the ruling, vowing to “fight for the right of internet users to choose whatever AI they want,” framing the dispute as a broader issue of consumer choice and technological freedom.
Conversely, Amazon hailed the court’s decision as a victory for platform integrity. The company described the preliminary injunction as “an important step in maintaining a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers.”