A U.S. federal judge has granted Amazon a preliminary injunction against Perplexity AI’s Comet browser in San Francisco. The order limits Comet’s access to Amazon accounts and requires deletion of previously collected Amazon data.
Amazon wins preliminary injunction against Perplexity's Comet
U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney of the Northern District of California issued the preliminary injunction in the case Amazon.com Services LLC v. Perplexity AI Inc., filed in San Francisco federal court.
Key terms of the order include:
- Perplexity is barred from using Comet or any other AI agent to access password-protected parts of Amazon systems.
- Perplexity may not create or use Amazon accounts for the purpose of automated or agent-based access.
- Perplexity must destroy any Amazon data it collected through Comet, as described in the court’s order.
- Judge Chesney found that Amazon is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims at this stage.
- The court held that Amazon showed it would suffer irreparable harm without preliminary injunctive relief.
- The court denied Perplexity’s request for a stay pending appeal but granted a 7-day administrative stay from March 9.
- The administrative stay allows Perplexity time to seek a stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In the written order, Judge Chesney stated that Amazon offered “strong evidence” that Perplexity accessed Amazon user accounts “with the Amazon user’s permission but without authorization by Amazon.” The court noted that user permission did not equal platform authorization for Comet’s access in this context.
Background on Amazon's lawsuit against Perplexity
Amazon sued Perplexity in November 2025 under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The complaint also cited California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.
According to the filings referenced in the order, Amazon alleges Perplexity disguised Comet as a standard Chrome browser. Amazon also alleges Perplexity declined to identify Comet as an AI agent when making purchases on Amazon.
Before filing suit, Amazon sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist letter dated October 31, 2025. The letter demanded that Perplexity stop disguising Comet as Chrome and clearly identify its AI agents when operating on Amazon.
Perplexity responded publicly with a company blog post titled “Bullying is not innovation,” stating that Comet acts on behalf of users who grant it access to their own Amazon accounts.
Amazon spokesperson Lara Hendrickson told Bloomberg that the preliminary injunction “will prevent Perplexity’s unauthorized access to the Amazon store and is an important step in maintaining a trusted shopping experience for Amazon customers.”
In a statement alongside the lawsuit, Amazon said third-party agents must identify themselves and operate with the platform’s consent. CEO Andy Jassy said on an earnings call that Amazon expected to work with third-party agents over time, but on Amazon’s terms.
Official documents and company statements
Several primary documents and statements related to the case are publicly available, including court filings, Amazon’s legal correspondence, and Perplexity’s public response.
- Federal case docket for Amazon.com Services LLC v. Perplexity AI Inc. on CourtListener
- Amazon’s October 31, 2025 cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity (PDF)
- Perplexity’s blog response “Bullying is not innovation”
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