New Delhi: The competition between two tech firms, Amazon and Perplexity AI is a big fight. The issue started because Perplexity developed a new AI Browser named Comet, which is also capable in assisting individuals to shop on the internet. Amazon is also displeased with this and has issued a legal notice to Perplexity. The warning is that the AI tool must not be left to purchase items on the Amazon site. Confusion, however, informs that Amazon attempts to prevent innovative activity and does not wish users to gain more freedom.
The new AI tool of Perplexity, Comet, can perform as a shopping assistant. One can instruct the tool to search the finest products on the internet, compare prices and even buy the same. The AI can accomplish it because of the existing user account information saved on his or her gadget. This implies that a user will not need to go to the Amazon site and search independently. Rather, the AI assistant takes care of all this, including locating and purchasing the product.
Amazon did not like this idea. The company wrote a legal notification to Perplexity requesting it to cease using Comet to shop on Amazon. Amazon claimed that the experience of shopping in their site is not improved when third-party applications such as this AI agent make purchases on their site. They added also that these are the tools, which might not be in line with rules of Amazon and be confusing to buyers or sellers. Amazon requested Perplexity to cease utilizing Amazon in its artificial intelligence shopping service.
The founder and CEO of Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, was in a strong reaction to the notice of Amazon. He sent an open letter in which he stated that bullying is not innovation. He indicated that Amazon was making attempts to prevent new ideas rather than aid them. In his view, Perplexity simply aims to make online shopping easier and more convenient to the users. He said that Comet is a way of people to locate what they really need without the necessity to watch advertisements or sponsored products. He thinks that Amazon is furious since the AI fails to present the products that Amazon desires people to see on the one hand, the products that best suit the buyer.
According to Aravind Srinivas, the users must be allowed to select their own shopping online tools. In his opinion, innovation does not imply providing less power to users. He also said that Amazon used to promote innovation and become successful before but now it is working like it owns the internet.
He further stated that the activities of Amazon might eliminate the ability of smaller companies to develop innovative new products that benefit people…
Aravind Srinivas Tweet
The point of technology is to make life better for people. We call it innovation, but it’s just the constant process of asking how to make things better. Bullying, on the other hand, is when large corporations use legal threats and intimidation to block innovation and make life worse for people.
This week, Perplexity received an aggressive legal threat from Amazon, demanding we prohibit Comet users from using their AI assistants on Amazon. This is Amazon’s first legal salvo against an AI company, and it is a threat to all internet users.
For the last 50 years, software has been a tool, like a wrench in the hands of the user. But with the rise of agentic AI, software is also becoming labor: an assistant, an employee, an agent.
The law is clear that large corporations have no right to stop you from owning wrenches. Today, Amazon announced it does not believe in your right to hire labor, to have an assistant or an employee acting on your behalf. This isn’t a reasonable legal position, it’s a bully tactic to scare disruptive companies like Perplexity out of making life better for people.
Amazon has never been in agreement with this and it still continues to claim that it just wants to protect the users. According to it, artificial intelligence tools should be transparent in their activities and they should not interfere with the regular operations of the site. The company is of the opinion that an AI should not be allowed to make purchases because it may lead to mistakes or abuse particularly when the user lacks a complete knowledge of how the AI functions.
It is not just a battle over shopping. It is also concerning the future of artificial intelligence use in the internet. With the increase in the smartness of AI tools, they are able to perform a wide variety of tasks on behalf of humans, including responding to queries and making purchases. However, that also leads to a major question: who is to manage such AI tools the user himself or big companies owning the websites?
When such companies as Amazon ceases to use AIs such as Comet, it might restrict the freedom of the users on the Internet. However, once any AI is left to operate freely, they might also lead to security or quality issues. That is why the struggle between Perplexity and Amazon is significant. It may determine the level of influence AI companies will exert in the future and how websites will collaborate with them.
Perplexity’s Final Take
Perplexity has stated that it will not abstain with its AI shopping functionalty. The company confirms that it will continue to protect the rights of users and will also continue enhancing its technology. After the open letter, Amazon has not provided any specific response.
Also Read: Apple turns to Google for a huge favor to fix Siri 2.0
