Court Says AI Agents Act as Their Users
A federal appeals ruling on Perplexity's Comet browser agent could shape how autonomous software is treated under computer-access law.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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A federal appeals court has vacated a preliminary injunction that had blocked Perplexity's Comet AI browsing agent from accessing Amazon accounts, ruling that the agent acts as an extension of the user rather than as an independent party. The decision, issued by the Ninth Circuit on August 4, 2026, is a court ruling affecting a shipped product, not an announcement or research result.
Why it matters
The ruling bears on whether AI agents that act on a user's behalf can be treated as the user under computer-access law, a question that shapes how autonomous software can operate on third-party websites. Amazon's case rests on the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California's CDAFA, and the outcome will influence how platforms defend their services against agents.
The Ninth Circuit's opinion, written by Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., turns on whether Comet's agent acts only when a user directs it. Amazon's amended complaint alleges the iOS version of Comet sends user cookies to Perplexity's cloud servers, a claim the court has not tested.
The players
Amazon
Amazon operates one of the largest e-commerce and cloud platforms in the United States, and is pursuing claims that AI agents accessing its customer accounts violate computer-access law.
Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI search company whose Comet browser agent is at the center of the dispute over automated access to third-party websites.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
The federal appellate court covering California and eight other western states, which vacated the preliminary injunction against Comet.
The details
Amazon sued Perplexity in November 2025, alleging its Comet agent accessed protected customer accounts without permission and presented itself as an ordinary Chrome browser. The Ninth Circuit reasoned that the agent is an extension of the user, so when it logs in, the user rather than an independent bot is accessing Amazon's computers. Because the ruling treats the agent as the user, the access question turns on whether the user authorized it, which is why the court found the injunction could not stand.
Timeline
November 2025: Amazon files suit against Perplexity.
March 9-10, 2026: A San Francisco federal judge grants Amazon a preliminary injunction.
August 4, 2026: The Ninth Circuit vacates the injunction.
September 10, 2026: The Ninth Circuit declines to rehear the case.
September 21, 2026: Amazon files an amended complaint targeting the iOS version of Comet.
The Tech Race
The case tests how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to AI agents that browse on users' behalf, a question now being litigated alongside other platform fights over automated access. The Ninth Circuit's user-extension reasoning gives agent developers one framing to argue from, while Amazon's amended complaint keeps the dispute open on new technical grounds.
Users of AI browsing agents may find that services can still block or challenge automated access, depending on how courts resolve the amended claims. The ruling does not yet settle whether an agent acting for a user is legally that user in every service's terms.
The takeaway
The Ninth Circuit's view that an agent is an extension of the user is the key trajectory point to watch as AI agents spread. Track whether the district court's next ruling on Amazon's amended complaint adopts or narrows that reasoning.
What happens next
The district court will decide what comes next in the Amazon v. Perplexity case following the Ninth Circuit's ruling.
Further reading
For broader context on how courts are handling autonomous software, see Artificial Intelligence coverage across the site.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Crypto Briefing.
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