In the latest episode of the podcast Decoder with Nilay Patel titled “The DoorDash Problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon”, the host lays out how the rise of “agentic” AI browsers — tools that act on users’ behalf to search, buy or book — could fundamentally disrupt how service platforms operate. He uses the confrontations between Amazon and Perplexity AI as a case study: Perplexity’s browser lets users have an AI agent that automatically shops for them (including on Amazon), and Amazon is suing, arguing this undermines its business model like ads, loyalty programs and direct customer relationships. The concept likened to how a food-delivery service (like DoorDash) would feel if an AI agent bypassed its app altogether, hence “DoorDash Problem.” The episode argues this moment may mark a major shift in who controls the user-service relationship online, raising big questions about regulation, platform power, and how value flows when AI bypasses traditional intermediaries.
