Volkswagen to integrate ChatGPT into vehicles: 'Enriching conversations, clearing up questions'

Volkswagen announced Monday plans to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into its vehicles as a standard feature starting in 2024.

The artificial intelligence-powered chatbot will be incorporated into the automobile manufacturer's existing IDA voice assistant.

"Volkswagen will be the first volume manufacturer to offer Chat GPT as a standard feature from the second quarter of 2024 in many production vehicles," the company stated in a Monday press release.

According to the Verge, ChatGPT-enabled vehicles will first be available to European customers this year. The company also intends to bring the vehicles to the United States, though those plans have not been finalized, the outlet reported.

The automaker's voice assistant, powered by Cerence Chat Pro, will now offer additional capabilities, including the ability to control the vehicle's infotainment, navigation, and air conditioning.

Volkswagen stated that the new feature will be helpful to drivers by providing "enriching conversations, clearing up questions, interacting in intuitive language, receiving vehicle-specific information, and much more – purely hands-free."

Owners will not be required to create a ChatGPT account or install an application to use the AI system. Driver inquiries that cannot be addressed by the basic capabilities of Volkswagen's voice assistant will be anonymously referred to ChatGPT to generate a response.

"The voice assistant is activated by saying 'Hello IDA' or pressing the button on the steering wheel. IDA automatically prioritises 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," the company explained.

Addressing possible privacy and security concerns, the auto manufacturer claimed that ChatGPT would not be able to access the vehicle's data. Any inquiries forwarded to the AI system will be "deleted immediately to ensure the highest possible level of data protection," the company said.

Kai Grünitz with Volkswagen stated, "Volkswagen has always democratised technology and made it accessible to the many. This is simply ingrained in our DNA. As a result, we are now the first volume manufacturer to make this innovative technology a standard feature in vehicles from the compact segment upwards. Thanks to the seamless integration of ChatGPT and strong collaboration with our partner, Cerence, we are offering our drivers added value and direct access to the AI-based research tool. This also underlines the innovative strength of our new products."

Stefan Ortmanns, CEO of Cerence, said the new integration will provide "unmatched flexibility, customisation, and ease of deployment, while prioritising security and usability for drivers."

"As we look to the future, together Volkswagen and Cerence will explore collaboration to design a new, large-language-model-based (LLM) user experience as the foundation of Volkswagen's next-generation in-car assistant," Ortmanns added.

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