Mercedes Is Adding ChatGPT To Its Car Voice Assistant In US

Mercedes and Microsoft have decided to include ChatGPT in Mercedes-Benz cars in the United States, as per a press release by the company. The luxury automaker has said that starting on June 16, it will roll out a software upgrade that will incorporate ChatGPT into its cars. 

The phrase "Hey, Mercedes," followed by a brief command, can already be used by drivers in Mercedes cars to perform tasks like finding a route on the navigation system or making a phone call. According to Microsoft, ChatGPT would make these speech instructions more fluid and natural and will potentially open up additional functions. The new feature will be integrated into the MBUX infotainment system of the car.

"Participants who ask the Voice Assistant for details about their destination, to suggest a new dinner recipe, or to answer a complex question, will receive a more comprehensive answer - while keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road," Mercedes said in a statement.

The company informed that only nine lakh customers who currently own a vehicle with MBUX will be able to test the function as part of a beta programme. The beta programme is expected to run for three months and the feedback received will be used to improve the system even further.

With fears over privacy, Mercedes stated that it would maintain ownership of all the collected, anonymised data. " Mercedes-Benz retains complete control over the IT processes in the background. The voice command data collected is stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud, where it is anonymised and analysed," they added. 

Markus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement of Mercedes said that this is a milestone for the company. "The integration of ChatGPT with Microsoft in our controlled cloud environment is a milestone on our way to making our cars the centre of our customers' digital lives. Our beta programme boosts the existing Hey Mercedes functions such as navigation queries, weather requests and others with the capabilities of ChatGPT. This way, we aim to support conversations with natural dialogues and follow-up questions."

Although Mercedes became the first carmaker to release a ChatGPT-based system, many others, including General Motors, have said that they are considering creating similar models, as per Fox News.