Mercedes-Benz and Google will teach the AI-powered voice assistant to respond to point queries on Google Maps in a deployable way
Mercedes-Benz and Google Cloud have announced an expanded partnership that will bring new conversational capabilities to the MBUX Virtual Assistant voice assistant. The technology builds on Google Cloud's Automotive AI Agent, which utilises Google Gemini artificial intelligence.
Here's What We Know
The new MBUX Virtual Assistant will be able to work with Google Maps, which contains data on 250 million locations around the world and is updated daily. This means that Mercedes-Benz drivers will be able to get up-to-date and detailed information on navigation and points of interest directly through the car's interface.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. Photo: Mercedes-Benz
Key features:
- Conversations in a natural way: for example, you can ask to find a restaurant with the query, "Where nearby can I try a unique cuisine?".
- You can ask clarifying questions, such as: "Does the restaurant have good reviews?" or "What is the chef's speciality?". The assistant will answer and show navigational details.
- Complex dialogues: the Assistant is capable of multi-way conversations, saving context and providing relevant information throughout the journey.
The first car with the new voice assistant will be the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which will debut later this year with the new MB.OS. The technology will be available in other Mercedes-Benz models in the future.
Source: Mercedes-Benz