Decoder with Nilay Patel

Episode: The DoorDash Problem: How AI Browsers Are a Huge Threat to Amazon

Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Nilay Patel (The Verge)

Episode Overview

This episode centers on what Nilay Patel calls "the DoorDash Problem"—the potential upheaval in the internet economy caused by AI agents acting as intermediaries between consumers and service providers like DoorDash, Uber, and especially Amazon. With the recent lawsuit filed by Amazon against Perplexity, a rising AI browser startup, the episode explores how the agentic web will change user experience, business models, and the very structure of online commerce.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The DoorDash Problem Explained

Timestamps: 00:35–04:40

• The "DoorDash Problem" refers to what happens when AI agents, acting for users, interact with service providers' apps—potentially bypassing the business models (ads, user engagement, loyalty programs) reliant on direct customer relationships.
• All major service providers of the App Store era (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, TaskRabbit, Zocdoc, etc.) could face becoming mere commodity backends, losing personalized customer touch points to whichever AI sits between them and users.
• The shift from desktop to smartphone enabled the online economy to grow, but now, AI agents threaten to abstract away service provider interfaces entirely, focusing solely on transaction fulfillment.
• Quote (Nilay Patel, 01:04):
  "AI agents don’t care about those things, after all, and DoorDash would just become a commodity provider of sandwiches and lose out on all the additional kinds of money you can make when people open your app or visit your website."

2. The Agentic Web: Industry Reactions and Philosophies

Timestamps: 06:34–21:11

Sundar Pichai (Google CEO) Perspective

Timestamps: 06:34–07:07, 20:12–20:47

• Discusses the web as fundamentally a collection of databases, with the UI built for human users, but notes a future where agents optimize for efficiency, possibly without rendering pages for human eyes.
• Draws analogies to how merchants accept credit cards and brands work with retailers—partners participate if the value exchange works.
• Quote (Sundar Pichai, 06:46):
  "For a web which is interacting with agents, you would think about how to make that process more efficient."
• Quote (Sundar Pichai, 20:47):
  "Retailers provide value in the middle. Like, why do merchants take credit cards? ... You find equilibrium because merchants see more business as part of taking credit cards than not."

Service Providers’ Attitudes

• Lyft CEO David Risher trusts that brand loyalty and real-world operations are strong moats; people won’t want generic “randos” fulfilling rides.
  Quote (David Risher, 11:13):
  "If it's not going to be ... an unbranded just rando picking me up, then it probably has to be ... one of the guys who are doing existing rideshare, and that's us."

• ZocDoc CEO Oliver Kharraz sees the reality of complex, highly-optimized real-world integrations keeping AI at bay.
  Quote (Oliver Kharraz, 12:22):
  "Anyone who is running a business that interacts with the real world knows that that's not going to be the case. ... These moats are so broad and so deep."

• TaskRabbit CEO Anya Smith claims that their value lies in supply network expertise; tech companies can’t simply replicate the operational complexity and trust.
  Quote (Anya Smith, 13:51):
  "Only TaskRabbit, a network of thousands of Taskers ... Siri is not going to do that, or Apple or whoever. They're just not going to be able to do that."

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s Pragmatism

Timestamps: 15:05–18:16

• Emphasizes willingness to experiment with AI aggregators and discusses pricing for AI intermediary access.
• Sees unique inventory and relationships as strengths but is also open to building Uber’s own agents.
• Pragmatic about economics: test the experience first, adjust pricing based on outcomes (cannibalistic usage ≠ free access).
• Quote (Dara Khosrowshahi, 16:31):
  "Initially, I charge you zero. ... Let's try it out, is it going to be a good experience or not?... If it's cannibalistic, then I'm going to charge a lot of money. ... If it is incremental, then I would pay some take rate."

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s Rebuttal to “One-AI-to-Rule-Them-All”

Timestamps: 18:16–21:07

• Skeptical of the idea that a single AI interface will dominate all commerce, as companies want and need their own customer relationships.
• Participation by platforms depends on having a say in that relationship.

Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on Economics of Agents

Timestamps: 21:11

• Warns that agentic platforms must align incentives for businesses, not just hackers.
• Quote (Kevin Scott, 21:11):
  "...You have a business and like, you want your business to be able to transact with users via their agent. Like, that has to make good business sense..."

3. Amazon vs. Perplexity: The First Shots Fired

Timestamps: 08:47–23:29

• Amazon sued Perplexity for its AI browser “Comet,” which automated Amazon shopping in a way that violated Amazon’s terms of service (by impersonating Chrome users and working around technical blocks).

• Amazon’s motivation: protecting its lucrative ad business (over $17B in quarterly revenue) and Prime subscriptions from being bypassed by AI. Losing the direct customer relationship means losing ad impressions, subscriptions, and lock-in advantages.

• Amazon compares AI shopping agents to food delivery or travel agents asserting businesses’ rights to control how their platforms are accessed.

• Quote (Amazon statement, 10:22):
  "...third party applications ... should operate openly and respect service provider decisions whether or not to participate. This helps ensure a positive customer experience...."

• Perplexity’s stance: AI user agents are simply acting on users’ behalf and as such should have the same rights to access as an actual user. Quote (Perplexity blog post, 27:10):
  "User agents are exactly that, agents for the user. ... A user agent is your AI assistant. It has exactly the same permissions you have..."

• Perplexity’s defiant approach mirrors previous friction over news/content scraping.

4. Why Amazon Is So Defensive

Timestamps: 23:29–28:15

• Unlike Uber, Lyft, or ZocDoc, Amazon’s competitive advantage is less defensible:
  • Its ad business relies on shoppers browsing and engaging directly.
  • Prime’s stickiness fades if AIs buy purely on price across sites.
  • Little unique retail service—Amazon often just passes along commoditized marketplace items.
• Amazon is uniquely unprepared for commodification by AI, so it is moving first and hardest to set legal precedent.
• The existential risk is not just transactional: it’s the erosion of customer loyalty, ad revenue, and the network effect that turns Amazon from a giant into “just another vendor.”

5. What Happens Next?

Timestamps: 28:15–29:50

• The legal and business frameworks for how agents can access services are unresolved.
• Service providers currently express confidence, citing brand, operational moats, and willingness to negotiate, but only Amazon is taking legal action so far.
• The future depends on how well AI agents work, how value is shared, and whether essential operational labor (drivers, delivery people, etc.) can be compensated sustainably.
• Quote (Nilay Patel, 29:40):
  "Because the thing that really brings on doordash is not having anyone to deliver sandwiches at all."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nilay Patel (01:04):
  "DoorDash would just become a commodity provider of sandwiches and lose out on all the additional kinds of money you can make when people open your app or visit your website."
• Sundar Pichai (06:46):
  "It is, but I think ... for a web which is interacting with agents, you would ... think about how to make that process more efficient."
• David Risher (Lyft, 11:13):
  "I don't think a lot of people would be super excited about just some rando coming, picking me up in sort of an unbranded service..."
• Oliver Kharraz (ZocDoc, 12:22):
  “...Our cartographers have been at this for 20 years. There's no way that anyone would catch up to us anytime soon. So they're not going to put us out of business."
• Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber, 16:31):
  "Initially, I charge you zero ... Let's just figure it out. ... If it's cannibalistic, then I'm going to charge a lot of money."
• Ali Moussa (DoorDash, 18:16):
  “What makes DoorDash valuable is not where you place an order, but the end-to-end experience, including reviews, personalization, real world fulfillment and support.”
• Perplexity Blog, relayed by Nilay Patel (27:10):
  "User agents are exactly that, agents for the user. ... A user agent is your AI assistant. It has exactly the same permissions you have..."
• Nilay Patel (29:40):
  "Because the thing that really brings on doordash is not having anyone to deliver sandwiches at all."

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:35: Introduction to the DoorDash Problem
• 06:34: Sundar Pichai discusses the future of agentic web
• 11:13: Lyft and ZocDoc CEOs on AI commoditization
• 15:05, 16:31: Uber CEO on agentic access and pricing strategy
• 18:16: DoorDash and Airbnb’s stances on integrating with AIs
• 20:12: Sundar Pichai’s credit card analogy
• 21:11: Microsoft CTO on agent economics
• 23:29: Amazon’s unique risk in the algorithmic commerce wars
• 27:10: Perplexity’s argument for user agent parity
• 29:40: The critical role of human labor in service fulfillment

Tone and Speaker Style

Nilay Patel brings clarity, wit, and urgency, weaving in high-level analysis with memorable, conversational quotes from top tech CEOs. The general tone from most CEOs is relaxed and pragmatic, contrasting sharply with Amazon’s assertive approach.

Conclusion

The “DoorDash Problem” frames a looming battleground in tech: who owns the customer relationship when AI intermediaries can transact anywhere on a user’s behalf? Amazon’s lawsuit against Perplexity is the first salvo, and the outcome will shape how brands, apps, and AI agents negotiate the future of digital commerce—potentially breaking the direct connection companies have with their users and radically reshaping how value is delivered and captured online.

“DoorDash would just become a commodity provider of sandwiches... AI agents don’t care about those things, after all.”
— Nilay Patel (01:04)

For feedback or thoughts on the episode, the Decoder team invites listeners to email decoder@theverge.com.