Perplexity Defeats Amazon AI Browser Ruling on Access to Online Store

A US appeals court has lifted an injunction that barred Perplexity's AI shopping tool in its Comet browser from accessing Amazon. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Amazon's claim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was unlikely to succeed, as Comet requires user direction to access Amazon's servers.

The court stated that Amazon would need to show intentional unauthorized access to a protected computer, obtaining information, and causing losses of at least $5,000 during a one-year period. The opinion also said an injunction against conduct that likely does not violate the CFAA or California's Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act would not be in the public interest.

Amazon had sued Perplexity in March 2026 after sending a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it block its AI browser from accessing Amazon's online store. The companies had agreed to pause agentic shopping in 2024, but Perplexity later restored the feature by disguising Comet's AI bot as a normal Chrome browser.

The appeals court ruling lifts the injunction but does not end the case, and Amazon can seek a rehearing or ask the Supreme Court to review the decision.