The Interface War: Amazon vs User-Controlled AI Agents

This case is not about automated shopping. It is about who controls the digital interface layer that shapes human behavior online.

Amazon is attempting to prevent users from operating their own AI agents to interact with platforms independently. Perplexity’s Comet agent performs the same actions a user could perform manually, but without passing through Amazon’s controlled interface. That interface is where behavioral steering, ranking bias, and psychological funneling occur.

If the user controls the agent, platforms become interchangeable service providers.
If the platform controls the agent, the user becomes a managed participant inside a closed system.

This is the same dynamic we see with:

Cryptocurrency self-custody vs custodial banking,

Decentralized identity vs platform account lock-in,

Cash and bearer assets vs Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

The outcome of this case determines whether the next decade of AI strengthens individual autonomy or platform control.

Quiet sovereignty is built one layer at a time.