Amazon Wants to Ban "Buy It Later," Battles Perplexity — The Opening Salvo in the AI Agent Supremacy War

1｜What Happened: The Day AI "Agents" Lined Up at the Register

A direct clash occurred between Perplexity, which provides the AI browser "Comet," and Amazon. The issue arose because Comet's "agent" could perform tasks from product search to payment on Amazon on behalf of users. Amazon insisted that if third-party apps purchase on behalf of customers, they should operate openly (by identifying themselves) and respect Amazon's participation decision, repeatedly requesting the suspension of the function. They even issued a C&D (Cease and Desist) document, accusing Comet of accessing Amazon while concealing its identity.About Amazon

In response, Perplexity countered with an open letter titled "Bullying is Not Innovation," arguing that companies have no right to prohibit AI assistants (User Agents) hired by users. They criticized Amazon for prioritizing ads and upselling and defended the legitimacy of their function.Perplexity AI

2｜Claims of Both Companies: Transparency vs. Choice

Amazon's Claim

• Comet disguises itself as Chrome to access, lacking transparency.

• As a result, it cannot engage in dialogues to monitor and improve the experience, leading to a "degraded shopping experience" (such as inconsistencies in price, delivery, and history personalization) and risks to customer data.

• Therefore, if Comet accesses, it must "identify itself" and respect our decision (non-participation).Amazon Assets

Perplexity's Claim

• User Agents are extensions of the users themselves, capable of only what is permissible to the user.

• Credentials are stored within the device, not on the company's servers.

• Amazon is trying to protect an "ad-driven experience," infringing on user choice.Perplexity AI

3｜Underlying Issues: Crawling and the "Identification" Problem

This conflict is not sudden. Since summer, Cloudflare has criticized Perplexity's crawler for "bypassing blocks and switching user agents and AS numbers while crawling." Perplexity countered that it was a misunderstanding, but the word "stealth" cast a shadow over the discussion. In an era where AI handles the web comprehensively, **"who is accessing where, with what identity (UA), and how"** is a core issue.The Cloudflare Blog

4｜The Contradiction of "Partnering with Third-Party Agents"

Interestingly, Amazon itself indicated in earnings calls the "possibility of partnering with third-party AI agents in the future." While evaluating the current experience as "not good," they do not exclude cooperation as a direction. In other words,they reject "non-identifying (non-transparent) agents" but leave room for partnership with "identifying agents."Modern Retail

5｜Law and Rule-Making: CFAA and "Store Rules"

Amazon's C&D cites the U.S. federal CFAA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) and California state law, arguing that "continuing to access by circumventing technical blocks constitutes unauthorized access," referencing past cases. The key here is whether to **continue automated access against the "rules of the store (platform)"**, stepping beyond a mere scraping dispute to address the legitimacy of "proxy purchasing."Amazon Assets

6｜Business Impact: Who Holds the "Recommendation Power"?

If AI agents become mainstream, the uppermost stream of search and e-commerce—the moment of choice—will shift from human screens to AI minds. Who decides **"what to buy, at what price, and from where"** will shake up the distribution of advertising, promotions, and margins. Amazon emphasizes "experience degradation" to highlight the discontinuity with its strengths (reviews, inventory, delivery, personalization). Meanwhile, Perplexity promotes "maximizing user benefits," advocating for decisions with less advertising bias. Bridging this gap depends on whether it can be addressed through transparency (identification, auditing) and mutual API/regulation development.About Amazon

7｜Social Media Reactions: Dichotomy of Support and Criticism

On X, there is a mix of support saying "Amazon just wants to protect ad revenue" and "Don't block user choice," and criticism saying "It's wrong to talk about 'rights' without solving the stealth issue." Perplexity's official account repeatedly emphasizes "user rights" in posts, with threads from news media and individual influencers following suit. Additionally, posts highlighting the context that "Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also an investor in Perplexity" have gained attention, sparking discussions on conflicting interests.X (formerly Twitter)

8｜Design Principles of "User Agents": Three Compromises

This clash is also a process of exploring the next standard of the web. At the implementation level, the compromises are likely the following three:

1. Visibility of Identity (Transparent UA)
   Standardizing "identification"—which AI is acting on whose behalf and with what authority. This is all Amazon is asking for. Conversely, clearing this opens up room for partnership.About Amazon

2. Boundaries of Consent and Safety
   Since accounts are involved, designing resistance to phishing and prompt injection and granular payment permissions is essential. The threat examples cited in the C&D support the standardization of "safe operation" for agents.Amazon Assets

3. Connecting Experience Quality (DX Telemetry)
   How to connect "store-side quality" like personalization, delivery accuracy, and return flows with agent decision-making. This is a design issue of API and metadata sharing, and in the future, a new store-side optimization called **"agent-compatible e-commerce"** should emerge.customerexperiencedive.com

9｜"Next Steps": Alliances and Rule Formation

In the short term, platform companies will likely establish **"AI Agent Terms of Use" and technical blocks (distinguishing Bots/Agents), while AI sides will approach with **UA declarations and audit logs**. In the medium term, models of agent collaboration (referral fees, definition of success points) will be explored around the redistribution of ad inventory and fees. In the long term, the choice of **"which AI to entrust by users"** will move wealth. This uproar is just the beginning of that entrance.The Verge