Ninth Circuit Vacates Injunction Blocking Perplexity AI's Shopping Agent

Amazon's attempt to block Perplexity AI's shopping agent, Comet, from operating inside its accounts has been rejected by a federal appeals court. On August 4, 2026, the Ninth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction that had kept Comet out of Amazon accounts.

The court ruled that an AI agent is considered a tool rather than a legal person under United States hacking law. This means that the human user is responsible for accessing Amazon's computers, not Perplexity itself.

Amazon had argued that Perplexity was in violation of federal and California computer crime statutes. However, the court found that these laws only apply to individuals who intentionally access a protected computer without authorization.

The ruling also noted that while Amazon can set its own rules for its website through its terms of service, it cannot rely on federal or state laws to keep AI agents out when they run on a user's machine.