Volkswagen Brings ChatGPT to Its Cars

Volkswagen Brings ChatGPT to Its Cars: Learn what this means for customers and the market

Key Takeaways:

• ChatGPT is an AI system that can generate natural language responses to any query imaginable.
• Volkswagen is the first volume manufacturer to integrate ChatGPT into its IDA voice assistant, which will be available in many production vehicles from the second quarter of 2024.
• ChatGPT can provide information and entertainment to customers while driving, without compromising their safety or privacy.

Volkswagen is the first volume manufacturer to integrate ChatGPT, an artificial-intelligence-based chatbot, into its IDA voice assistant. Volkswagen announced the new feature at CES 2024, the world’s leading electronics trade fair, and said it will be available from the second quarter of 2024 in many production vehicles, including the electric ID 4 and ID 3, the all-new Tiguan and Passat, and the new Golf. This means that customers will have seamless access to the constantly growing AI database in all Volkswagen models equipped with IDA and have researched content read out to them while driving. 

By now, everyone know what ChatGPT is, but just in case you've been living in cave, ChatGPT is an AI system that can generate natural language responses to any query imaginable. It can answer general knowledge questions, provide vehicle-specific information, and even tell stories about dinosaurs. ChatGPT is based on a large-scale neural network that has been trained on billions of words from the internet, books, and other sources.

How Will ChatGPT Be Integrated?

The feature is enabled by Cerence Chat Pro, a technology partner that offers a uniquely intelligent, automotive-grade ChatGPT integration. The integration of ChatGPT into the backend of the Volkswagen voice assistant offers a multitude of new capabilities that go far beyond the previous voice control. For example, the IDA voice assistant can be used to control the infotainment, navigation, and air conditioning, or to answer general knowledge questions. In the future, AI will provide additional information in response to questions that go beyond this as part of its continuously expanding capabilities. This can be helpful on many levels during a car journey: enriching conversations, clearing up questions, interacting in intuitive language, and much more – purely hands-free.

What Will Be The Customer Experience?

Nothing changes for the person behind the wheel. There is no need to create a new account, install a new app, or activate ChatGPT: The voice assistant is activated by saying “Hello IDA” or by pressing the button on the steering wheel. IDA automatically prioritizes whether a vehicle function should be executed, a destination searched, or the temperature adjusted. If the request cannot be answered by the Volkswagen system, it is forwarded anonymously to AI and the familiar Volkswagen voice responds. ChatGPT does not gain any access to vehicle data; questions and answers are deleted immediately to ensure the highest possible level of data protection.

What Is the Competition Doing?

Volkswagen is not the only automaker to experiment with ChatGPT. Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota have also announced plans to use the AI system in their cars in the near future. However, Volkswagen is the first to offer it as a standard feature in many of its models, giving it a competitive edge in the market.

To summarize, Volkswagen is bringing ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, to its cars and SUVs. This will allow customers to have access to a vast amount of information and entertainment while driving, without compromising their safety or privacy. ChatGPT is integrated into the IDA voice assistant, which can also control the vehicle functions and settings. Volkswagen is the first volume manufacturer to offer this feature, which will be available from the second quarter of 2024 in many production vehicles.