Mercedes-Benz will use ChatGPT in its car voice assistant

Mercedes Benz does not want to stay away from the madness of generative AI, and from today includes ChatGPT in the voice assistant of their cars. The German automaker has announced that users of more than 900,000 of the brand’s vehicles with the MBUX infotainment system can now install the feature as part of an optional beta.

For now, ChatGPT will be available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. only in the United States. The company did not specify if it plans to expand the test to other markets, although this is not unusual. If, of course, positive results are obtained.

What Mercedes-Benz is lifting with this update is the ability to expand the reach of the voice assistant already available in the MBUX software. The company acknowledges that voice-controlled commands tend to be quite rigid, which is not limited to specific brand models. However, he believes that the technology behind ChatGPT could change the way drivers interact with their car.

“Users will get an assistant that not only accepts natural voice commands, but can also participate in conversations. Soon, participants who ask the voice assistant for details about their destination, suggest a new dinner recipe, or answer a tough question, they will get a more complete answer without taking their hands off the wheel or taking their eyes off the road,” the automaker said.

Mercedes-Benz is also joining ChatGPT.

It will be interesting to see if ChatGPT proves to be a useful addition to Mercedes-Benz vehicles or if it’s just a marketing gimmick. It is worth noting that those who want to access the OpenAI technology must sign up for an additional beta. but the funny thing is they can do it right from their car.

According to the Teutonic brand, drivers should only sit in their car and talk “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program”. Downloading the new voice assistant from ChatGPT will be automatic and free of charge on compatible models. Once installed, the AI ​​chatbot can be invoked using the command “Hey Mercedes” it already exists.

There is an interesting moment behind this news. Alliance formed between Mercedes-Benz and Microsoft. After all, it will be the people of Redmond who will give the Germans access to ChatGPT through the Azure OpenAI service announced earlier this year.

Also, while Mercedes is promoting the use of ChatGPT as a means of communicating with their vehicles, the real interest lies elsewhere. Specifically, in integration with third-party services. According to Microsoft, the automaker is “exploring the ecosystem plugins” an OpenAI chatbot to implement features that “improve comfort and productivity on the go.” For example, buying movie tickets or booking a table in a restaurant directly using the car’s voice commands.

ChatGPT beta in Mercedes-Benz vehicles will last 3 months. In terms of privacy, the automaker said it will retain full control over background data processing. What does it mean? That all information entered into the voice assistant will be anonymized and will not leave the cloud infrastructure of the German company.