The Doordash Problem: How Ai Browsers Are A Huge Threat To Amazon

Let’s talk astir AI and what I’ve been calling nan “DoorDash problem.” This is astir to specify nan adjacent conflict successful AI, and it mightiness wholly toggle shape not only really you bid a sandwich — but besides really nan full net system useful successful general.

So what, exactly, is nan DoorDash problem? Briefly, it’s what happens erstwhile an AI interface gets betwixt a work provider, for illustration DoorDash, and you, who mightiness nonstop an AI to spell bid a sandwich from nan net alternatively of utilizing apps and websites yourself.

That would mean things for illustration personification reviews, ads, loyalty programs, upsells, and partnerships would each spell distant — AI agents don’t attraction astir those things, aft all, and DoorDash would conscionable go a commodity supplier of sandwiches and suffer retired connected each further kinds of money you tin make erstwhile existent group unfastened your app aliases sojourn your website.

The DoorDash problem is not circumstantial to DoorDash — it’s conscionable nan illustration I for illustration to usage because I deliberation sandwich transportation is simply a funny proxy for nan building of nan world economy. But “who owns nan customer?” is simply a large problem for each of nan work companies that came up successful what you mightiness telephone nan App Store era: Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, Zocdoc, you sanction it.

I’ve been asking nan CEOs of these companies astir nan DoorDash problem connected Decoder for months now, because I’ve been predicting that yet 1 of them is going to determine it doesn’t want to springiness up its customers to AI and effort to artifact agents entirely. 

Recently, my prediction came existent — but it wasn’t a mini subordinate that decided to push backmost against AI; it was 1 of nan biggest players of all. Earlier this month, Amazon sued Perplexity to effort and forestall its AI powered Comet browser from shopping connected Amazon.com, a move Perplexity has characterized arsenic “bullying.”

So, it’s here: nan first awesome beforehand successful nan warfare complete who gets to browse nan web and who controls nan economical experiences of nan early has opened up. Now, it’s clip for america to really dive heavy into nan DoorDash problem.

The sandwich transportation complex

Once upon a time, if you wanted to bid a sandwich from your favourite section sandwich shop, you’d really caput complete location and bid astatine nan counter, aliases make a telephone telephone straight to nan store. It was face-to-face relationship pinch different quality being, and that’s fundamentally what nan full system looked like, extracurricular of immoderate message bid catalogs and QVC.

The celebrated dot-com bubble of nan precocious 1990s was fueled by nan belief that each of these sorts of interactions would hap connected nan net — that alternatively of going successful personification aliases ordering complete nan phone, you’d sojourn websites to bid sandwiches, aliases bargain pet supplies, aliases person groceries delivered. The stake was that a immense portion of nan system would move to nan internet, and nan companies that sewage location first would get immense and make everyone rich. 

Looking back, this was broadly nan correct bet. The problem is that “the internet” successful nan precocious 90s looked for illustration desktop browsing connected immense building PCs pinch CRT displays, accessed complete 56K dial-up modems. It was nan correct thought pinch nan incorrect shape factor, each measurement excessively early. People didn’t really do each their shopping connected those machines, and nan bubble popped.

The stake was that a immense portion of nan system would move to nan internet, and nan companies that sewage location first would get immense and make everyone rich

But each of these ideas came backmost astir successful nan smartphone era, because nan smartphone was and remains nan cleanable shape facet for ubiquitous entree to nan internet. Apple launched nan iPhone successful 2007 and nan App Store successful 2008, nan aforesaid twelvemonth arsenic Android and what would go nan Play Store. The app system started to really boom. 

Companies for illustration Uber, Airbnb and, yes, DoorDash exploded successful popularity, and we really person seen immense chunks of nan system move to nan net because of it. Yes, it took tremendous sums of task superior money, and you mightiness opportunity it was wasteful, but that money was spent, and these services are each immense businesses today. They are truthful huge, successful fact, that spending a bunch of VC money to commencement different Uber now is simply a really bad thought — there’s a logic you don’t spot that happening. You conscionable can’t do this again connected smartphones.

But a batch of nan aforesaid VCs who funded nan smartphone app system are looking for nan adjacent large thing, and they’re backing AI — specifically, agentic AI. We’ve each seen nan demos and heard nan promises. The stake — the bubble — is that we’ll move nan system yet again, from smartphone apps to AI agents that conscionable do each nan activity for you. And this isn’t immoderate thought from a fewer wide-eyed startup founders, though location are decidedly a fewer of those successful nan mix. Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI – they’ve each announced plans for assistants aliases AI-powered web browsers that would activity successful this way.

Now, here’s wherever nan problem comes in. That committedness of nan agentic system is built connected an highly brittle narration betwixt nan DoorDashes of nan world and nan AI companies who deploy nan agents. It’s not astatine each clear really things will play retired to everyone’s benefit. It’s besides not clear really anyone tin extremity it.

Think astir it this way: it’s easy to build an supplier that tin spell get you a sandwich if you simply presume that DoorDash exists. That there’s a institution building and maintaining a large database of restaurants and menus, different database of disposable transportation drivers, arsenic good arsenic nan expertise to return your order, nonstop it to a restaurant, process nan transaction, get a transportation personification each lined up successful time, and grip customer support if thing goes wrong. 

It’s not astatine each clear really things will play retired to everyone’s benefit. It’s besides not clear really anyone tin extremity it

But if group extremity utilizing nan apps and websites and commencement sending agents instead, that business really starts to break down. Because DoorDash and each nan different work providers make their money by having a nonstop narration pinch customers they tin monetize successful tons of different ways. It’s basal worldly for illustration promotions, deals and discounts, ads for different stuff, their ain subscriptions for illustration DashPass and Uber One, and immoderate different ideas they mightiness person to make money successful nan future. 

But AI doesn’t attraction astir immoderate of that worldly — if you inquire for a car to nan airport, an AI mightiness conscionable unfastened Uber and Lyft and ever prime nan cheapest ride. These large App Store era services mightiness conscionable go commodity databases of accusation competing connected value alone, which mightiness not really beryllium sustainable, moreover if it mightiness beryllium nan future. In fact, this past May astatine nan Google I/O developer conference, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said that he thinks we mightiness not request to render web pages astatine each successful an agent-first world: 

Demis Hassabis: In nan nearer term, nan web is going to alteration rather a batch if you deliberation astir an agent-first web. Like does it needfully request to spot renders and things for illustration we do? 

I asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai astir that remark connected Decoder, and he tried to explain it a little: 

Nilay Patel: I’ve been reasoning astir this successful nan discourse of services for illustration Uber, DoorDash, and Airbnb. Why would they want to participate successful that and beryllium abstracted distant for agents to usage nan services they’ve spent a batch of clip and money building?

Sundar Pichai: Two things, though. First, there’s a batch to unpack, a fascinating topic. The web is simply a bid of databases, etc. We build a UI connected apical of it for each of america to conceive.

This is precisely what I wanted — “the web is simply a bid of databases.”

It is. But I deliberation I listened to nan Demis and Sergey speech yesterday. I enjoyed it. I deliberation he’s saying for an agent-first web, for a web that is interacting pinch agents, you would deliberation astir really to make that process much efficient. 

I’m conscionable saying, turning each these services into databases for agents mightiness termination those services. And past what will nan agents do? That’s nan DoorDash problem.

So far, this hasn’t really been a problem. All these AI bots haven’t been disrupting nan travel of commerce betwixt consumers and nan companies, truthful work providers person been contented to fto nan AI companies experiment. In immoderate cases, they’ve moreover announced integrations pinch AI chatbots, because why not? But arsenic much and much group move to AI first, and arsenic much and much AI companies commencement making sound astir agents, it’s clear that this is going to beryllium a existent conflict successful nan years to come. The point I didn’t expect is that it’s starting pinch Amazon. 

The awesome AI browser conflict is here

If you haven’t utilized Perplexity, nan institution arrived connected nan AI segment successful precocious 2022, correct aft nan motorboat of ChatGPT. It makes an AI hunt motor powered by a operation of its ain models and existing AI models from OpenAI and others.

The original transportation was arsenic a benignant of competitor to Google. As of earlier this year, Perplexity now besides makes its ain browser called Comet, which is built connected Google’s Chromium motor but is really a conveyance for nan company’s AI supplier technology. 

Perplexity promotes Comet arsenic “the browser that useful for you,” and overmuch for illustration Microsoft Edge pinch built successful Copilot, Chrome pinch its heavy Google Gemini integrations, and now OpenAI’s Atlas browser, it’s an effort to rethink really we usage nan web, aliases alternatively really we nonstop AI to usage nan web connected our behalf.

Because group do truthful overmuch shopping connected nan web, Perplexity built a shopping supplier that tin automate browsing and buying connected Amazon, which, notably, is successful usurpation of Amazon’s position of service. According to Amazon’s ineligible complaint, Perplexity ignored respective requests to disable this functionality, and alternatively began masking its AI agents arsenic quality Chrome users and moreover updated Comet to circumvent Amazon’s method efforts to extremity it. 

Amazon’s suit claims Perplexity is violating nan Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is simply a arguable rule but still fundamentally nan large national anti-hacking legislation. This is simply a large deal. Here’s Amazon’s statement: 

We deliberation it’s reasonably straightforward that third-party applications that connection to make purchases connected behalf of customers from different businesses should run openly and respect work supplier decisions whether aliases not to participate. This helps guarantee a affirmative customer acquisition and it is really others operate, including nutrient transportation apps and nan restaurants they return orders for, transportation work apps and nan stores they shop from, and online recreation agencies and nan airlines they book tickets pinch for customers.

Agentic third-party applications specified arsenic Perplexity’s Comet person nan aforesaid obligations, and we’ve many times requested that Perplexity region Amazon from nan Comet experience, peculiarly successful ray of nan importantly degraded shopping and customer work acquisition it provides.

That’s Amazon making nonstop comparisons to nutrient transportation apps and online recreation services successful nan discourse of AI agents. Baby, that’s nan DoorDash problem.

Now, I’ve asked a lot of CEOs successful nan past twelvemonth astir this nonstop problem, and nan chaotic point is not a azygous executive I’ve talked to seems astir arsenic concerned arsenic Amazon. They’re surely not filing lawsuits. In fact, immoderate of them look downright relaxed. 

For example, here’s what Lyft CEO David Risher had to opportunity erstwhile I asked him astir nan DoorDash problem: 

David Risher: The astir utmost type of what you’re saying is I spell to ChatGPT and I say, “Please travel prime maine up.” And immoderate rando comes to prime maine up, and there’s nary guarantee, there’s nary service. That would beryllium bad. I don’t deliberation a batch of group would beryllium ace excited astir conscionable immoderate rando coming, picking maine up successful an unbranded service, and immoderate it is.

So if it’s not going to beryllium an unbranded rando picking maine up, past it astir apt has to beryllium 1 of nan guys who are doing existing rideshare, and that’s us. And past we’ve sewage each sorts of ways wherever I deliberation we tin compete.

If they effort to disintermediate, you say, “Well, no, I really person a penchant here.” And we’re going to do a full bunch of different things to make judge that you person a very, very beardown penchant for asking for america by name, not conscionable saying, “I want to get to a place.”

I’d opportunity this is nan astir communal consequence to my questions astir nan DoorDash problem — that group person a batch of existing beardown marque relationships, and that you’re still much apt to want your AI to get a car from Uber aliases Lyft alternatively of immoderate random company. Maybe these work providers conscionable complaint higher fees to customers that travel from AI, and it each useful itself out. Besides, you still person to build nan work — link proviso and demand, negociate drivers, fielding customer work requests — and that’s really hard, truthful it’s improbable anyone other does that successful a purely AI-native way.

Actually, nan champion type of that statement I heard came from Zocdoc CEO Oliver Kharraz, who much aliases little said “go up and try”:

Oliver Kharraz: Here are nan questions you should inquire yourself. Question number one: Are these agents simply going to wholly displace you? Anyone who’s moving a business that interacts pinch nan existent world knows that that’s not going to beryllium nan case, because of that learning curve, because of each nan separator cases, and each these things. Even if nan AIs were to commencement learning astir them, we’re truthful overmuch further up that we tin ever present a amended experience. So this is nan seashore of England problem. Our cartographers person been astatine this for 20 years; there’s nary measurement that anyone would drawback up to america anytime soon. So they’re not going to put america retired of business.

Nilay Patel: I look astatine immoderate of these companies, and they say, “Well, screw it. We’re conscionable going to spell click astir connected your website. We’re conscionable going to unfastened a browser, and we’re going to click nan buttons for nan user, and we’ll do that successful nan background.” And you mightiness ne'er know. You mightiness ne'er cognize that this happened.

Perplexity is going to do this pinch its browser. Knowing Perplexity, that is astir apt really its supplier will work. That destroys your leverage. You person to observe their supplier and say, “You can’t do automated browsing.” And there’s nary framework. There’s nary speech model for that.

While they do that, they’re not making immoderate money, and I make money arsenic I utilized to. So that’s really cool. Give maine free traffic.

So I don’t deliberation there’s really a threat there. And if they are going to negotiate, if they do want to person immoderate of that money, I deliberation these companies that are nan Ubers, nan Airbnbs, nan DoorDashes of this world, are successful a unsocial position to dictate their position successful a measurement that they could ne'er do pinch Google.

I sewage nan aforesaid benignant of consequence from Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith, who much aliases little dared Apple to commencement a Taskrabbit of their own:

Ania Smith: Then, location will beryllium immoderate economical measurement to fig retired a strategy wherever it useful for some parties. Siri, successful this case, wants to beryllium capable to supply these types of services, and they can’t really do it without Taskrabbit because only Taskrabbit really has a web of thousands of Taskers. We cultivated that network. We cognize who they are and we understand their skills. They’ve each been inheritance checked.

Siri, Apple, aliases whoever is not going to do that. They’re conscionable not going to beryllium capable to do that. We will ever person nan spot and supply, and we will proceed to spell wherever nan customer is to make judge arsenic galore of them person entree to our level arsenic possible.

Oliver and Ania’s perspectives present are important, because I deliberation they correspond a reasonably defiant cognition toward nan agentic web. ZocDoc has spent much than almost 20 years building a level to thief find you a doctor, and doing nan difficult activity of integrating pinch nan chaotic U.S. healthcare system. Taskrabbit is really bully astatine getting personification retired to bent up a TV. Those moats are truthful wide and heavy that these CEOs don’t really consciousness for illustration they person immoderate competition, fto unsocial from AI.

At nan aforesaid time, erstwhile I asked Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi astir nan DoorDash problem, he was beautiful unfastened that it is thing he thinks about: 

Dara Khosrowshahi: It’s a really bully question. We talk astir it each nan time, and clip will show arsenic to what nan correct determination is. I judge successful moving unfastened platforms. I don’t judge successful companies that effort to conflict nan people that exertion is taking. They ever get near behind. I deliberation we should spell wherever consumers want america to go. I do deliberation that’s each nicey-nicey, but astatine nan aforesaid time, 1 of nan advantages that we person is our unsocial inventory.

So I think, arsenic it relates to AI and these agents, we want to activity pinch these players. We travel from a spot of spot because of nan unsocial inventory and nan fragmentation of these markets that we’re organizing. We’re going to build our ain agents arsenic well. As agelong arsenic we’re reasoning astir nan consumer, our earners, and our merchants, I deliberation we’ll beryllium okay.

And Dara was besides 1 of nan fewer CEOs to springiness maine a straight-up reply erstwhile I asked really overmuch he mightiness see charging AI companies if they effort to beryllium betwixt him and his customers.

Nilay Patel: So, I travel to you and I say, “I want to beryllium capable to get cars from Uber.” What is nan percent toll? What is nan other separator you would person to complaint me, successful dollars and cents, to make it worthy it for maine to return nan customer distant from you successful that way? Because erstwhile nan customer opens your app, you get to cross-sell them into Uber One, aliases inquire “would you for illustration immoderate nutrient erstwhile you arrive?” There’s each of these different incremental opportunities you person to forgo if I return that customer.

Dara Khosrowshahi: So I person a weird accuracy connected this. Initially, I complaint you zero. I deliberation that companies sometimes–

Alarm bells conscionable went disconnected astatine each level.

No, listen! People walk truthful overmuch clip trying to fig retired what nan economics mightiness beryllium erstwhile nan first point is to effort it out. Is it going to beryllium a bully acquisition aliases not? Is your scheduling really going to work, aliases is it going to beryllium disconnected and nan driver has to hold for 10 minutes, which is terrible? Let’s conscionable fig it out. Then, erstwhile you optimize nan experience, we tin measure. Are you an incremental user for Uber aliases are you wholly cannibalistic?

If it’s cannibalistic, past I’m going to complaint a batch of money. You can’t person immoderate money because you’re getting nan use and my content. You’re not bringing maine immoderate business astatine all. If it is incremental, past I would salary immoderate return rate. Is it a 5, 10, aliases 20 percent return rate? It depends connected nan incrementality. 

But I deliberation truthful overmuch invention has slowed down because companies effort to fig retired nan economics first. Figure retired nan acquisition first and past nan economics. Listen, if I do a bad woody for a year, who cares? I’m going to renegotiate pinch you. I’m building worldly for nan adjacent 10 years. Success aliases nonaccomplishment isn’t going to beryllium wished by my return complaint being 5 aliases 20 percent successful twelvemonth one. It tin group precedent, and precedents are dangerous. That’s why I would opportunity to complaint zero. Let’s effort it out. Let’s spot what nan acquisition is. Let’s effort to measurement retired what nan worth adhd is, and past nan economics fundamentally will return attraction of themselves.

If you’re making nan intelligence comparison to nan App Store era for illustration I’ve been, that mightiness sound familiar: build nan business first, get each nan customers, and past fig retired what to complaint successful bid to make a profit. That’s ever been nan Uber way, and it’s not really a astonishment to perceive it again successful this context.

So astatine this point, you mightiness beryllium wondering: what does DoorDash deliberation astir nan DoorDash problem? We’ve been trying to get DoorDash CEO Tony Xu connected nan show to spell deeper connected each of this, but successful nan meantime Head of Communications Ali Musa did nonstop america a statement: 

We person launched respective integrations pinch partners who connection DoorDash incremental request channels, specified arsenic ChatGPT, Google, and Yelp. No azygous transmission monopolizes customer attention. What makes DoorDash valuable is not wherever you spot an order, but nan end-to-end experience, including reviews, personalization, real-world fulfillment, and support. A transmission would person to replicate each of our end-to-end functionality to afloat service a customer. Each clip we’ve integrated pinch partner properties, we’ve continued to turn faster and astatine larger scale.

Tony, if you’re listening, I’d emotion to person you on the show to unpack that a small more. I did get a much fleshed retired type of that thought from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, 1 of my favourite Decoder guests, who told maine that he conscionable doesn’t deliberation a azygous institution tin build each of nan interfaces for everything: 

Brian Chesky: There’s this AI maximalist position that there’s going to beryllium for illustration 1 aliases 2 AI models and 1 aliases 2 applications that norm them each and you usage this 1 app and this 1 exemplary for everything successful nan world. If you return that to its logical conclusion, you besides commencement to spell to this spot wherever almost 1 institution rules everything, and I deliberation there’s galore problems pinch nan AI maximalist position that it’s 1 institution to norm them all. 

I don’t deliberation companies conscionable want to beryllium information layers, and truthful these platforms aliases these caller interfaces are only arsenic bully arsenic nan companies that participate, and nan companies will only participate if they tin person a narration pinch their ain customer. 

Again, I’ve been asking astir this problem for months, and proceeding each of these very pragmatic answers. Sundar, erstwhile I asked astir him astir it, made a very down-to-earth comparison to brands and retailers and in installments cards, each of whom return cuts from each transaction:

Sundar Pichai: It’s reliable to predict, but I do deliberation that complete time, if you’re removing clash and improving personification experience, it’s reliable to stake against those successful nan agelong run. And truthful I deliberation if you are lowering clash for it and past group are enjoying utilizing it, somebody’s going to want to participate successful it and turn their business. And would brands want to beryllium successful retailers? Why don’t they waste straight today? Why won’t they do that?

Because retailers supply worth successful nan middle. And why do merchants return in installments cards? I’m conscionable saying. So location are galore parts, and you find equilibrium because merchants return in installments cards truthful they spot much business arsenic portion of taking in installments cards than not, which justifies nan accrued costs of taking in installments cards. 

Similarly, Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott told maine present connected Decoder that each their activity connected agents won’t travel to thing if they don’t make nan economics work:

Kevin Scott: So if you person a business and you want your business to beryllium capable to transact pinch users via their agent, that has to make bully business consciousness successful bid for you to beryllium consenting for that to hap astatine all. You can’t conscionable hack your measurement astir that and expect it to beryllium a durable thing. Even if you tin temporarily fig retired immoderate benignant of method magic to get astir nan brittleness of nan existent technology, you besides person to get free of nan brittleness successful nan business model.

So present you person each of these smaller players saying they want to spot really things play out, and moreover saying they deliberation they person a batch of leverage. You person Google and Microsoft saying it needs to each make business sense, pinch Google’s CEO making a nonstop comparison to retail.

So why is Amazon, a literal unit giant, going connected nan violative against AI agents first, and hardest?

Amazon vs. Perplexity

We were conscionable discussing really each nan CEOs I’ve talked to connected Decoder have framed nan DoorDash problem for maine — it’s mostly been very calm, and moreover confident, moreover though I’ve been predicting that yet personification would push back.

But I was wholly amazed that it was Amazon that pushed backmost first, and against Perplexity of each companies. Perplexity isn’t precisely a family name, and Comet isn’t grabbing each nan marketplace stock from Chrome anytime soon. 

At first I thought Amazon was conscionable picking connected a smaller subordinate to make a constituent and group immoderate precedent. But nan much I thought astir it, nan much it occurred to maine that Amazon mightiness person nan astir to suffer successful nan world of AI agents — it has nan biggest advertisement business, nan astir lucrative subscription work successful Prime, and it is simply a force-of-habit default for millions of shoppers worldwide. Letting an AI supplier disrupt each of that would beryllium dangerously costly. And connected apical of each that, Amazon mightiness beryllium acold little differentiated and easier to switch than thing for illustration Uber.

Hear maine out. First of all, ads are a immense business for Amazon. Any clip you shop pinch Amazon, you spot sponsored products, sponsored brands, and regular aged show ads. Lots of companies walk millions successful trading budgets buying preferred placements crossed Amazon, and it’s go a meaningful portion of its business and nan full advertizing ecosystem.

But nan much I thought astir it, nan much it occurred to maine that Amazon mightiness person nan astir to suffer successful nan world of AI agents

In fact, Amazon reported $17.7 cardinal successful advertizing gross successful its astir caller quarter, a 24 percent summation twelvemonth complete twelvemonth that puts it connected way to propulsion successful much than $60 cardinal successful advertisement gross successful 2025 alone. That makes Amazon’s advertisement business nan third-biggest among tech giants, down only Google and Meta, and it’s besides now diving caput first into AI advertising, pinch devices for brands to make images, merchandise descriptions, and moreover video advertisement spots. Amazon’s advertisement business is truthful robust that it’s now selling each of nan exertion that powers it to different retailers. For Amazon, this is simply a huge, profitable business, 1 that’s increasing to rival AWS.

But if an AI supplier does your shopping for you, you don’t spot nan ads, and you surely won’t attraction if immoderate marque paid to put their merchandise first connected nan list. So browsers for illustration Comet pinch agentic shopping features are an existential threat to Amazon’s immense and increasing advertizing business. 

AI browsers are besides a threat to Prime itself — subscribing to Prime is simply a awesome logic group shop connected Amazon by default. But if you tin conscionable show your browser to bargain thing astatine nan lowest value from immoderate retailer, possibly you shop connected Amazon less, and possibly that Prime subscription feels little worthy it complete time. All of nan different companies we talked to talked astir really you spot their brands to do things successful nan beingness world for illustration sending you a car, but Amazon’s already turned itself into commodity supplier of weirdo drop-shipped products from alphabet crockery companies. It wouldn’t return a batch to disrupt that if group are conscionable sending agents retired to do nan shopping for them. 

This is simply a problem Amazon is already trying to lick connected its ain level — it has its ain AI shopping assistant, called Rufus, that tin navigate nan immense number of products and vendors connected nan site, and it’s trialing an AI bot called “Buy For Me” that tin spell retired and make purchases for you connected third-party websites.

Maybe you don’t spot immoderate fly-by-night institution to book a expert aliases bent a TV aliases nonstop you a car successful clip to drawback your flight. But you mightiness beryllium perfectly happy to conscionable return nan cheapest value connected a USB-C cablegram from anyone offering it, which would make a batch of Amazon’s unit competitors very happy.

Amazon simply can’t consequence losing that narration pinch its customers aliases its position arsenic the default shopping destination. If Amazon does partner pinch agentic AI companies, it’s only going to do truthful connected favorable position it negotiates directly. We cognize this because Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said truthful connected nan company’s most caller net call. He said that nan agentic web reminded him of nan early days of hunt engines as “sources of find for commerce,” adding, “you had to benignant of fig retired nan correct measurement to activity together.”

It’s weird to deliberation of Amazon arsenic having 1 of nan slightest defensible moats successful tech, but AI scrambles everything, and it feels for illustration Amazon has a batch astatine liking if nan courts yet broadside pinch Perplexity.

“Software is becoming labor”

That each brings america to Perplexity, and why it thinks it tin triumph successful a ineligible conflict pinch Amazon without 1 of those deals. Perplexity’s constituent of position isn’t precisely subtle — we tin conscionable look astatine nan company’s ain blog post, titled “Bullying Is Not Innovation.” As you mightiness imagine, it makes immoderate beautiful bold claims astir really nan early of nan net should work. 

First off, Perplexity has a history present that’s important to mention. The institution first began making a sanction for itself a fewer years ago, erstwhile it launched its AI-powered hunt motor successful December 2022. Instead of partnering pinch news organizations, Perplexity began scraping websites for nan accusation it would compile into AI summaries for its users. 

In immoderate cases, newsrooms were uncovering paywalled contented surfacing successful Perplexity hunt results, which yet resulted successful nan institution getting sued by Dow Jones, patient of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. And nan lawsuits haven’t fto up. In September, Perplexity was sued by Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, and a period later, it was sued by Reddit. 

Since then, for illustration OpenAI, Perplexity has started going retired and striking deals pinch news organizations to licence their content. [Disclosure: The Verge’s genitor company, Vox Media, has struck 1 of those deals pinch OpenAI.] But overall, Perplexity is very overmuch an “ask forgiveness, not permission” subordinate successful nan AI ecosystem, and nan institution surely loves getting successful problem for attention. 

All that said, openly violating Amazon’s word of work is simply a beautiful risky stunt. But nan institution isn’t backing down. In its blog post, nan institution casts itself arsenic an innovator fighting for nan personification and striving to create a amended internet, and Amazon arsenic a bully trying to squash advancement pinch ineligible threats. It called Amazon’s suit a “threat to each net users” and an effort to “make life worse for people.”

The institution writes, “User agents are precisely that: agents of nan user.  They’re chopped from crawlers, scrapers, aliases bots. A personification supplier is your AI adjunct — it has precisely nan aforesaid permissions you have, useful only astatine your circumstantial request, and acts solely connected your behalf.” 

The statement present is that an AI supplier is nan aforesaid arsenic you — if you tin entree a website, your supplier should beryllium capable to arsenic well. If you’ve been astatine each reasoning astir really AI will interact pinch labor, well, present it is — Perplexity says explicitly that “software is becoming labor” to warrant its agents accessing Amazon’s tract successful usurpation of Amazon’s position of service.

Perplexity doesn’t want support for its agents to entree websites, and it doesn’t deliberation it needs it

To beryllium honest, I person nary thought really to consciousness astir that. I couldn’t moreover show you really to begin to consciousness astir that. In fact, I induce you to show me really to consciousness astir that: our email reside is decoder@theverge.com, and we really do publication each nan emails.

In immoderate event, Perplexity doesn’t want support for its agents to entree websites, and it doesn’t deliberation it needs it. Its blog station ends beautiful defiantly: “Amazon besides forgets really it sewage truthful big. Users emotion it. They want bully products, astatine a debased price, delivered fast. Agentic shopping is nan earthy improvement of this promise, and group already request it. Perplexity demands nan correct to connection it.”

Look, I don’t cognize really this conflict is going to extremity up. I don’t cognize really nan manufacture solves nan DoorDash problem. I don’t moreover cognize if each these AI agents will activity good capable to make this problem immoderate bigger than Perplexity starting immoderate shit.

What I do cognize is that everyone is reasoning astir it, and if each this AI finance is going to beryllium worthy it, nan companies building agents request to commencement reasoning astir really each nan group that really do nan existent labour these services supply get paid existent money that makes those jobs worthwhile. Because nan point that really brings down DoorDash is not having anyone to present sandwiches astatine all.

Questions aliases comments astir this episode? Hit america up astatine decoder@theverge.com. We really do publication each email!