Volkswagen says it’s putting ChatGPT in its cars for ‘enriching conversations’

Volkswagen is jumping on the generative AI bandwagon by announcing plans to install OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its vehicles starting in the second quarter of 2024.

The chatbot will be available across VW’s lineup, including in Tiguan, Passat, and Golf as well as the automaker’s ID family of electric vehicles. The feature will come to Europe first, and is being considered for customers in the US, though plans have yet to be finalized.

VW is using ChatGPT to augment its IDA in-car voice assistant to enable more naturalistic communication between car and driver. Vehicle owners can use the new super-powered voice assistant to control basic functions, like heating and air conditioning, or to answer “general knowledge questions.” (Though, given ChatGPT’s penchant for occasionally making stuff up, user discretion is advised.)

If you’re scratching your head, wondering why you would possibly need ChatGPT in your car, VW says future functions may help prove its worth. “Enriching conversations, clearing up questions, interacting in intuitive language, receiving vehicle-specific information, and much more—purely hands-free,” the company says.

VW promises it won’t force you to create a new account or install any apps. The chatbot can be activated by using the wake words “Hello IDA” or pressing a button on the steering wheel. And OpenAI isn’t getting access to your driving stats, either. VW says questions and answers are “deleted immediately to ensure the highest possible level of data protection.”

Last year, OpenAI said it would be releasing a platform for making custom versions of ChatGPT for specific use cases. These AI agents, which OpenAI is calling GPTs, will be accessible through the company’s GPT Store.

Most vehicle voice assistants are pretty rote, able to do things like turn on seat heaters or window defrosters — but lack conversational skills and typically fall short of more complex navigational requests. False positives and the need to vocally repeat instructions are common. Many automakers are relying on options from third-party developers like Google’s Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.

ChatGPT and other large language model chatbots have been known to serve up false information, and OpenAI is being targeted in a number of defamation and copyright infringement lawsuits.

While many automakers are using the annual CES conference in Las Vegas to announce plans to enhance their vehicles with generative AI and large language models, VW is the first to officially embrace the chatbot that is best known for kicking off the latest AI arms race.

VW says it is able to integrate OpenAI’s chatbot into its cars thanks to Cerence, a third-party software company that makes “automative grade” ChatGPT integrations. The company’s Cerence Chat Pro software will enhance VW’s voice assistant so it can “provide relevant responses to nearly every query imaginable.”

It’s pretty telling that while other automakers are “testing” ChatGPT’s worthiness for vehicle use, VW is just going for it. Despite being one of the biggest automakers in the world, VW had a rough 2023, including disappointing sales growth, software malfunctions, and layoffs. The company is clearly looking for some kind of boost, and jumping on the AI hype-train seems designed to give it some kind of sheen of tech inventiveness.

Hopefully it took notes when internet pranksters discovered that a Chevy dealership in California was using ChatGPT for its online assistant.