Volkswagen will not sit and watch other carmakers use AI in their favor. The Germans will start rolling out cars with integrated ChatGPT in the second quarter of 2024. The carmaker is the first volume carmaker to officially embrace the chatbot. Owners will not have to worry about data protection, says Volkswagen.
The Tiguan crossover, the Passat sedan, and the Golf hatchback, as well as the ID electric lineup, are the models that will be getting the ChatGPT, Volkswagen announced at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. Basically, the system will show up in every car underpinned by the MEB and MQB eco platforms from the Volkswagen Group.
The feature, offered in partnership with tech company Cerence, will first be available in Europe. Volkswagen is seriously considering making it available in the United States as well.
A text-generating AI chatbot developed by Open AI, ChatGPT will be implemented in order to augment the IDA in-car voice assistant and make conversations more interesting. Thus, communication between car and driver will be more natural, all in the already familiar Volkswagen voice.
Drivers will be able to control the basic functions of the car, such as heating, air conditioning, and navigation, but also answer general knowledge questions. Like any chatbot, ChatGPT can also make up stuff and offer fake information.
Photo: Volkswagen
If you are already rolling your eyes and wondering what in the world you are going to do with ChatGPT on board your car, Volkswagen makes things clearer. It enriches conversation, clears up questions, and interacts in intuitive language, the carmaker explains.
Volkswagen will keep it simple. Drivers will not need to create any new account, install any apps, or activate ChatGPT. To activate the chatbot, they will only need to say "Hello IDA!" Or press the dedicated button on the steering wheel. To offer the necessary cyber security, both questions and answers are instantly deleted.
Volkswagen thus becomes the first volume manufacturer to offer ChatGPT as a standard feature from the second quarter of 2024 in production cars. "Volume" is keyword here. Last June, Mercedes-Benz integrated ChatGPT into its MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) voice assistant.
The integration of the chatbot might be just the beginning. It is the first step in Volkswagen and Cerence designing a new, large language model (LLM)-based user experience as the basis of Volkswagen's next-gen in-car assistant, says Stefan Ortmanns, CEO of Cerence.
The German carmaker is counting on offering customers added value and direct access to the AI-based search tool, says Kai Grunitz, Member of the Board of Management Volkswagen Brand for Technical Development.
The new in-car function is different from what Cariad, the software arm of parent company Volkswagen Group, is working on. Since 2020, when it was founded, Cariad has been working on the auto giant's issues with software.
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