Mercedes-Benz amazes everyone by further expanding the AI options within its vehicles. This time the novelty proposed by the German automotive industry giant consists in the addition of ChatGPT to voice control via Hey Mercedes by MBUX Voice Assistant. The beta begins today, June 16, 2023, for more than 900,000 vehicles equipped with the MBUX infotainment system in the United States. But how does it work?
Mercedes-Benz brings ChatGPT to its vehicles
If the Mercedes-Benz MBUX Voice Assistant has already revolutionized voice control in vehicles with intuitive operation and a large selection of commands, now that the OpenAI AI model comes to its support, a new revolution is expected. ChatGPT complements existing intuitive voice control via Hey Mercedescombining a more natural form of dialogue with data accessible on MBUX Voice Assistant.
The result? A voice assistant in vehicles capable of conducting conversationseven suggesting new recipes for dinner or answering more complex questions while driving.
Customers can participate via the Mercedes me app or directly from the vehicle by using the voice command “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta programme”. After that, Installing ChatGPT via Azure OpenAI it will happen over the air.
Of course, the data protection remains the top priority for Mercedes-Benz: customers will always be able to control the information collected and the purposes for which it is used. In case of interest, they can limit access and increase the protection measures for sensitive data.
Markus Schäfer, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said the integration of ChatGPT with Microsoft in the German manufacturer’s cloud environment remains a milestone for the automotive industry as it makes cars “the center of customers’ digital life”, thus redefining the public’s relationship with Mercedes.