Google's Conversational 'Automotive AI' Coming to New Mercedes-Benz EV

Mercedes-Benz is bringing conversational AI to the revamped CLA. Using Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent, CLA drivers will be able to chat with their cars, receiving everything from local restaurant recommendations to sightseeing suggestions on the go.
Google Cloud announced the partnership on its blog on Monday. Built using Gemini on Google’s Vertex AI platform, Automotive AI Agent is a conversational, driving-oriented verbal chatbot that integrates with Google Maps to provide spatially relevant responses and recommendations. According to Google, Automotive AI Agent can handle “complex, multi-turn dialog” and maintain a history of prior conversations, allowing drivers and their passengers to ask follow-up questions to earlier queries. (For example, if you were to ask the tool for an upscale brunch recommendation, you’d then be able to ask if the restaurant serves vegan menu items or offers live music.) 
Automotive AI Agent will make its real-world debut via the MBUX Virtual Assistant, a version of the agent customized for Mercedes. The first vehicle to feature MBUX Virtual Assistant—named for Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment system—will be the new CLA, which will come in all-electric and hybrid combustion versions. Mercedes will start production on the CLA this spring, with deliveries planned for mid- to late-2025. The assistant will reportedly “roll out to further models” at a later date, though Mercedes and Google haven’t specified which vehicles will receive the AI facelift.
There’s a chance that Google’s Automotive AI will hold all the temporary novelty of early Amazon Alexa, a smart assistant that proved less practical than its many advertisements made it out to be. On the other hand, a conversational tool like this one could help to reduce opportunities for distraction on the road. If you can ask your car for a museum’s hours, a restaurant’s gluten-free options, or the starting time of a home basketball game, you might be less likely to consult the internet on your phone. As more automakers make the driving experiencemore distracting, tools like these could help to make the road a little safer.
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