1. Amazon vs. Perplexity AI — The New Shopping Agent Battle

Amazon has formally challenged Perplexity’s AI browser tool, Comet, which autonomously browses and purchases products on Amazon’s site. Amazon claims the tool infringes on its ecosystem control; Perplexity counters that Amazon is restricting user choice and competition.

Source: The Verge

Strategic insight for Xyra Group:

• The interface layer between consumer and commerce is under contest. If AI agents (browsers, assistants) can buy on behalf of users, the relevance and ownership of brand storefronts, product listings and platform positioning will shift dramatically.

• Brands must ensure they are visible and optimised for AI-agent purchase behaviour, not just human browsing. Entities that rely solely on traditional store/website channels may face irrelevance.

• For acquisitions: we must stress-test whether a target brand stands to be discoverable and convertible by AI agents — and what the revenue impact would be if an external agent redirects flows away from the brand control.

2. Surge in AI Bot Traffic — A Risk & Opportunity for Commerce

According to a new report by Akamai Technologies, AI-powered bots have increased 300% over the past year, disrupting web-traffic norms, creating operational noise and elevating cybersecurity risk for online businesses. 

Source: The Economic Times

Strategic insight for Xyra Group:

• The rising tide of non-human activity may distort conversion metrics, raise fraudulent click costs, and complicate attribution. Brands must invest in bot detection, traffic integrity and analytics hygiene.

• For our portfolio, this means ensuring that acquisition targets have robust traffic-validation frameworks, secure infrastructure and trustworthy data flow — or risk inflated valuations based on flawed metrics.

• Bots also suggest opportunity: companies that adapt with AI-native anti-fraud, adaptive interface design and hyper-efficient measurement may capture a margin advantage as others lag.