Volkswagen has unveiled its latest innovation in the automotive industry by integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its vehicles. This cutting-edge voice assistant will revolutionize in-car conversations and provide a more interactive and seamless experience for customers. At the CES electronics trade fair, Volkswagen showcased its first ChatGPT-integrated vehicles, which will be available in North America and Europe from early in the second quarter of this year.
The AI-powered voice assistant adds a new dimension to in-car communication. It can recognize and respond to a wide range of demands, from adjusting the temperature when it hears I’m feeling cold to displaying the nearest Indian restaurant upon hearing I want butter chicken. This functionality is made possible through a partnership between Volkswagen and Cerence, a leading provider of conversational AI technologies.
One of the primary benefits of this integration is the ability for customers to control various functions within their vehicle without having to touch a button. Kai Gruenitz, the Volkswagen brand’s board member for technical development, emphasized the importance of speech dialogue systems in meeting customer demands. He stated, Our customers don’t want to manually adjust their seats … they want to use speech dialogue systems.
While some critics argue that the addition of generative AI in vehicles is not as advanced as expected, automakers like Volkswagen believe that it represents a significant step forward. Gruenitz explained that the next step is to enable users to adjust functionalities inside the vehicle seamlessly, similar to how they can use Apple CarPlay or Android. The goal is to provide customers with a seamless and intuitive experience when interacting with their cars.
Volkswagen prides itself on its commitment to innovation, becoming the first volume manufacturer to make ChatGPT a standard feature in its compact segment cars. General Motors also acknowledged the importance of AI voice assistants last year when it announced its plans to develop a virtual personal assistant using similar AI models.
Mercedes-Benz conducted a successful test program last year, allowing 900,000 vehicles equipped with the MBUX system to download ChatGPT. The ultimate vision is to enable users to carry out tasks such as making reservations for movies or restaurants directly from behind the wheel.
With the integration of ChatGPT, Volkswagen is transforming the way we interact with our cars. This technology not only enhances the functionality of vehicles but also provides a more intuitive and convenient experience for customers. As the automotive industry continues to evolve, AI-powered voice assistants like ChatGPT are becoming crucial elements in creating a seamless and connected driving experience.
