Mercedes-Benz and Google Cloud have expanded their strategic partnership to introduce new conversational capabilities to the MBUX Virtual Assistant, powered by Google Cloud’s new Automotive AI Agent.
Built using Gemini on Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent is specially tailored for the automotive industry and can pick information from Google Maps to give users detailed and personalized conversational responses on navigation, points of interest and more.
Google Maps provides Mercedes-Benz owners with factual information about 250 million places around the world, and the map is updated in near-real time, with over 100 million updates each day.
With the enhanced search and navigation experience, users can converse with the MBUX Virtual Assistant and get answers to questions. For instance, a passenger could ask ‘Could you guide me to the nearest fine dining restaurant for a unique culinary experience?’ and then follow up this question with follow-on questions such as ‘Does the restaurant have good reviews?’ or ‘What is the chef’s signature dish?’, and the MBUX Virtual Assistant would be able to respond with accurate, up-to-date information.
The new experience will be available first in the new Mercedes-Benz CLA. Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent will also enable the MBUX Virtual Assistant to handle complex, multi-turn dialog and retain memory of conversations, meaning users can continue conversations and reference information throughout their drives. The feature will be rolled out to more models in the future.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we seek to offer our customers an exceptional digital experience. Our partnership with Google Cloud will further enhance in-car navigation, combining sophisticated location data with generative AI. Launching with the new CLA, our next-gen navigation will allow drivers and passengers to use voice commands to obtain comprehensive and personalized information within seconds,” said Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group.
“Our new Automotive AI Agent will help drivers navigate and search with in-vehicle assistants, so those interactions are more natural and helpful. This is just the beginning of how agentic capabilities can transform the automotive industry and I’m excited to see our partnership drive progress forward,” added Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.
