Google and General Motors – They are actually competitors, at least in parts, but they cooperate: on AI.
The Startup of General Motors is Cruise, which regarding autonomous driving with the Google sister Waymo is in competition. Both are developing robotic taxis whose core component is AI. But the interior of the vehicle currently looks different. Looking to capitalize on the AI craze, GM is now using Google Cloud’s conversational chatbot called Dialogflow to handle some non-urgent features of OnStar.
GM announced the collaboration along with a keynote address from Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at the Google Cloud Next 23 event on Tuesday. OnStar, GM’s in-car concierge, has been powered by intent-detection algorithms using Google Cloud’s conversational AI since its launch in 2022. Today’s advances make it possible to provide drivers with answers to frequently asked questions such as route guidance and navigation assistance.
Expanding OnStar’s capabilities aligns with GM’s larger vision to build a $25 billion subscription business by 2030.
Since 2019, GM has been building new vehicles with Google integrated, meaning the cars come with Google Assistant, Maps and Play accessible directly from the vehicles’ infotainment systems. In April, the automaker announced it would phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allow drivers to mirror their smartphone screens on the vehicle’s dashboard, in favor of Google Integrated.
GM says the OnStar virtual assistant now handles more than 1 million customer inquiries per month using Dialogflow in the US and Canada. The service is available on most model years 2015 and newer GM vehicles.
In addition to route guidance and turn-by-turn directions, OnStar’s chatbot can help with simple questions about the non-urgent OnStar blue button in GM vehicles. GM says the chatbot can also capture phrases and words that might indicate an emergency situation and quickly transfer the call to a human advisor.
Dialogflow can also answer customer questions about GM vehicles and product features based on technical information from the automaker’s vehicle data cache. Customers can ask the bot about GM’s new EV line for 2024 or the use of new technology features in their vehicles.