Amazon sues AI startup over browser’s automated shopping and buying feature
Amazon sued a prominent artificial intelligence startup on Tuesday over a shopping feature in the company’s browser, which can automate placing orders for users.Amazon accused Perplexity AI of covertly accessing customer accounts and disguising AI activity as human browsing.“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon’s lawyers wrote.“Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot; that Perplexity’s trespass involves code rather than a lockpick makes it no less unlawful.”Perplexity, which has grown rapidly amid the boom in AI assistants, has previously rejected the US shopping company’s claims, accusing Amazon of using its market dominance to stifle competition.
“Bullying is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people,” the company wrote in a blogpost.The clash highlights an emerging debate over regulation of the growing use of AI agents, autonomous digital secretaries powered by AI, and their interaction with websites.In the suit, Amazon accused Perplexity of covertly accessing private Amazon customer accounts through its Comet browser and associated AI agent and of disguising automated activity as human browsing.Perplexity’s system posed security risks to customer data, Amazon alleged, and the startup had ignored repeated requests to stop.“Rather than be transparent, Perplexity has purposely configured its CometAI software to not identify the Comet AI agent’s activities in the Amazon Store,” it said.
In the complaint, Amazon accused Perplexity’s Comet AI agent of degrading customers’ shopping experience and interfering with its ability to ensure customers who use the agent benefit from the tailored shopping experience Amazon curated over decades.Third-party apps making purchases for users should operate openly and respect businesses’ decisions on whether to participate, Amazon said in an earlier statement.Perplexity earlier said it had received a legal threat from Amazon demanding that it block the Comet AI agent from shopping on the platform, calling the move a broader threat to user choice and the future of AI assistants.Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionPerplexity is among many AI startups seeking to reorient the web browser around artificial intelligence, aiming to make it more autonomous and capable of handling everyday online activities, from drafting emails to completing purchases.Amazon is also developing similar tools, such as “Buy For Me”, which lets users shop across brands within its app, and Rufus, an AI assistant to recommend items and manage carts.
The AI agent on Perplexity’s Comet browser acts as an assistant that can make purchases and comparisons for users.The startup said user credentials remain stored locally and never on its servers.The startup said users had the right to choose their own AI assistants, portraying Amazon’s move as an attempt to protect its business model.“Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” Perplexity added.“But Amazon doesn’t care, they’re more interested in serving you ads.
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WTA Finals tennis: Elena Rybakina rocks Aryna Sabalenka to claim title – as it happened
Right then, I’ll wrap things up here … but the action never stops. The ATP Finals kick off tomorrow. Join us again, please.Rybakina lifts the trophy, the confetti flies and it’ll be fascinating to see how she goes at the Australian Open. It’s been a long time since she made a deep run at the slams, failing to go past the fourth round this year
Second-gear Kangaroos wow the locals but whitewash may not save Kevin Walters | John Davidson
In 1982 the Kangaroos came to the UK and made history. They were both the first Australian side to win the Ashes series 3-0 and go through a tour undefeated, winning 22 matches in a row and averaging 45.6 points per game. They dazzled the English public not just with their skill, speed and size, but their pure footballing brilliance. Historians and authors have written that they “changed rugby forever”
Scotland 17-25 New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
Lee has jumped across to cover England v Fiji, so I’ll point you in his direction before closing this blog down. Ta-ra.A 33rd attempt, a 31st defeat and crucially still no win for Scotland against the All Blacks. And so the search will go on. Let us not resort to that familiar lament, if Scotland could not win it here, will they ever
Damian McKenzie edges All Blacks home after scare to crush Scotland comeback
A 33rd attempt, a 31st defeat and crucially still no win for Scotland against the All Blacks. And so the search will go on. Let us not resort to that familiar lament, if Scotland could not win it here, will they ever. It is true, they had as gilt-edged a chance as they ever had, New Zealand forced to play a total of half an hour a man down, having been shown three yellow cards. It is true, Scotland showed remarkable spirit to recover from 17-0 down at the break to level on the hour
Australia deliver brutal reminder to England as Walsh seals Ashes sweep
Australia saw off another defiant effort from England to complete an Ashes series whitewash and leave the hosts with major questions over their future before next year’s World Cup.This series had been billed as the most important moment for English rugby league in years, with the Ashes returning after a 22-year hiatus. In the first two Tests, the theme had largely been of England undoubtedly competing but lacking attacking quality when it mattered most.The story in Leeds was the same. England trailed by four at half-time at Headingley and looked well placed to at least push to make it 2-1
The LA Dodgers won the World Series but for Latino fans, it’s complicated
The fact that Latino stars were at the forefront of the victory over the Toronto Blue Jays sits alongside the club’s near silence on the immigration raids roiling the cityFor Natalia Molina, a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a third-generation Mexican American, the crowning moment of baseball’s World Series didn’t come in last Saturday’s nail-biting finale, when her team performed one death-defying escape act after another before prevailing in extra innings over the Toronto Blue Jays.It came a game earlier, when two of the team’s second-tier players, Kike Hernández, who is from Puerto Rico, and Miguel Rojas, from Venezuela, pulled off a thrilling, game-winning sequence that simultaneously upended the many negative stereotypes Donald Trump has been touting about Latinos since he first ran for president a decade ago.The play itself was breathtaking: Hernández charged in from left field to snag a ball he initially lost in the stadium lights, then fired it to second base to chalk up another, game-winning out on the same play. Rojas, at second base, received the ball just a split second before a Blue Jays runner barreled into him, knocking him backwards.This wasn’t just a great sporting moment, perhaps the decisive shift in momentum in the Dodgers’ favor after looking for much of the series like the weaker team
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