AI browsers need the open web. So why are they trying to kill it?

"Perplexity is among the many AI companies that has spent years extracting value from the internet in exchange for little. Its crawlers have synthesized endless amounts of content from publishers, even working around publishers' attempts to block this behavior, all so Perplexity can summarize content without having to send traffic to the websites themselves. Now Perplexity and its rivals are going a step further, with a new wave of AI browsers that can navigate pages automatically."

"The pitch is that AI "agents" will soon be able to trudge through the web on your behalf, booking your flights, buying your groceries, and shopping on sites like Amazon. Both Perplexity and OpenAI view these browsers as imperative in their goals to build AI "operating systems" that can manage your life. Amazon, which has a lot to lose if people stop accessing its website directly, is suing to stop that from happening. It's been trying to block Perplexity, but so far to no avail."

Perplexity and other AI companies have harvested and synthesized large amounts of web content, sometimes bypassing publishers' blocking measures, enabling summaries without sending traffic to original sites. A new generation of AI browsers, including Perplexity's Comet, OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas, and Opera's Neon, can autonomously navigate pages and perform tasks such as booking flights, buying groceries, and shopping. These AI agents aim to serve as operating systems that manage users' lives and may divert traffic away from websites. Amazon has sued Perplexity to protect direct access and revenue from its site.

Read at Fast Company