LAS VEGAS – Mercedes-Benz launched a new virtual assistant at the CES electronics trade fair on Monday capable of providing context-based suggestions and engaging in dialogue with users, signalling another step forward in the use of artificial intelligence in cars.
The assistant may talk in different tones of varied emotions and offer intelligent questions to clarify what exactly is being requested, the business added.
“The car is your dialogue partner. You can ask questions, have a conversation, be productive,” Mercedes’ chief technology officer, Markus Schaefer, said at a press roundtable in Las Vegas.
The assistant would be carried out in vehicles including the fresh idea CLA class, an all-electric take to the carmaker’s smaller four-door model, launching in North America at the exhibition.
With electric-vehicle technology less complex and varied than that of combustion-engine cars, carmakers are aiming to distinguish themselves apart on their software solutions.
Voice assistant technology in cars has become ever more advanced, from the utilisation of personalised avatars on generative AI technology.
Volkswagen unveiled its first vehicles with a voice assistant that integrates ChatGPT technology on Monday, allowing drivers to have researched content read to them while driving.
Volkswagen stated that its assistant would be able to communicate with consumers by mid-year, remembering prior questions and responding appropriately.
Mercedes-Benz said its new voice assistant would include a plausibility check for the responses it provides. It will review suggestions based on cloud data and customer self-reporting when, for example, a suggested restaurant or shop closes.
“We feel that we have an obligation if we put something in the car that you can trust the information,” Schaefer added.
