The AI-powered chatbot that’s been making headlines this year is slowly becoming a part of our daily lives, including our time spent in cars. Keen to be a part of this trend, Mercedes-Benz recently announced that it is integrating ChatGPT into its vehicles’ voice control systems. This move is part of their effort to enhance the “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant and make it more intuitive.
A beta program has kicked off in the U.S. for about a million Mercedes cars that have the MBUX infotainment system.
Mercedes-Benz mentioned that users can join the program either through the Mercedes Me app or directly from their cars by saying, “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program,” which will trigger an over-the-air update.
The existing MBUX Voice Assistant already allows drivers and passengers to get updates on sports and weather, answer questions, and even control smart home devices. The addition of ChatGPT aims to enhance this system further. Mercedes believes that ChatGPT will significantly improve natural language understanding and broaden the range of topics it can address. Soon, users might get more detailed answers about their destinations, new dinner recipe suggestions, or responses to complex questions.
Mercedes also explained that this development is a result of their collaboration with Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT.
Addressing privacy concerns, Mercedes revealed that voice command data is collected and stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud, where it is anonymized and analyzed. They highlighted that integrating ChatGPT with Microsoft within their controlled cloud environment is a significant step toward making their cars essential parts of their customers’ digital lives. The beta program enhances current “Hey Mercedes” functions like navigation queries and weather requests with ChatGPT’s capabilities. This aims to enable more natural conversations and follow-up questions.
In-car voice assistants are a practical way for drivers to get information without distracting themselves from driving. Hopefully, the addition of ChatGPT will elevate this technology, providing drivers with needed information more efficiently.