Three companies have declared war on how you use the internet. Perplexity AI launched Comet, its AI-powered browser, in July 2025. OpenAI released Atlas on October 21, promising a future where AI handles your web tasks autonomously. Google then responded by expanding agentic capabilities in Chrome through “AI Mode” in early November. We can call these new hybrid interfaces, “agentic browsers.” They can shop, book appointments, and navigate websites on your behalf.

Amazon didn’t wait long to respond. On October 31, Amazon sent a cease and desist letter to Perplexity. The letter alleged that Comet violated Amazon’s terms of service. It claimed Comet allowed users to make unauthorized purchases through Amazon. The letter contended that Perplexity’s approach creates a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience.” When Amazon tried to block the bots, Perplexity released a new version to bypass the security measures.

What Are Agentic Browsers?

Agentic browsers use AI to perform web tasks autonomously on behalf of users. They assist with shopping, booking appointments, and comparing products across multiple sites. These browsers are built on Chromium, the open-source engine behind Chrome. They can click, scroll, and type. Users can complete purchases while focusing on other tasks.

• Perplexity Comet – (Free for all users) Promises to compare products across sites and complete purchases for you.
• OpenAI Atlas – Launched on October 21, 2025, for macOS users at all subscription tiers. Atlas features an “Ask ChatGPT” sidebar that remembers context from sites you visit. Its agent mode can research topics, automate tasks, and plan events while you browse. OpenAI’s 800 million ChatGPT users gained instant access to agentic browsing capabilities. Atlas is free, but agent mode requires a Plus, Pro, or Business subscription.
• Google Chrome AI Mode – Expanded to Android and iOS on November 5, 2025. It reached 160 new countries and added support for Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. No agentic capabilities just yet, but the feature roadmap has been announced. With an estimated 3.5 billion daily Chrome users worldwide, everything we know about using the web will change. This will happen when Chrome’s agentic features are live.

Why Amazon Really Cares

Amazon’s issue with Perplexity isn’t just about unauthorized access. Agentic browsers threaten Amazon’s lucrative advertising business. When shoppers search on Amazon, they see sponsored product placements. That’s how Amazon makes most of its advertising revenue. If AI agents shop for customers, those ad placements lose their value. An agent doesn’t care about promoted listings. It optimizes for the user’s actual preferences.

Agentic browsers won’t just search Amazon. The more you use a shopping agent, the more it learns your buying habits. It compares prices across dozens of retailers, factors in shipping costs and return policies, and finds the best overall deal. This will either level the playing field for all online retailers or favor those who pay. We can all guess where this is going. Retailers with the biggest budgets will pay for placement in agent recommendations, just like they do in Google search results.