Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into some of its cars from mid-way through this year, allowing drivers to converse with their vehicles.
ChatGPT will be featured among vehicles from the second quarter, Volkswagen announced at the Las Vegas CES electronics trade fair on Monday, including its electric models and new versions of the Passat, Tiguan and Golf.
Enabled by software from automotive AI specialist Cerence, ChatGPT will be integrated into Volkswagen voice assistant to offer “a multitude of new capabilities that go far beyond the previous voice control”, the company said.
This includes control of its entertainment system, navigation and air conditioning, or even answering general knowledge questions mid-drive and other “fun and conversational chit-chat”, according to Cerence.
“I think what our customers are really looking for is seamless, intuitive usage of their car,” Volkswagen technical development board member Kai Gruenitz said on Monday.
“Our customers don't want to manually adjust their seats [...] they want to use speech dialogue systems.”
Volkswagen added the move would make it the first volume manufacturer to offer ChatGPT as standard in vehicles, with rivals so far having just tested such programmes.