A Mercedes you can really talk to? Virtual Assistant gets smart with Google AI tech

Is your spouse a bad listener? Does it feel like your friends don't really get you? Do you struggle to find good advice on cool places to go? Help may be at hand.

There’s nothing new about cars that you can talk to, or cars with built-in Google for that matter, but the technology which Mercedes plans to debut in its new-generation CLA sedan could certainly be a conversation starter in more ways than one.

Starting with the new CLA that's due later this year, an updated MBUX Virtual Assistant system will take its conversational abilities to the next level using Google Cloud’s new AI Agent, which was designed specifically for cars.

The system will be able to give users more detailed and personalised conversational responses about navigation, points of interest and more, drawing on fresh, factual and constantly updated information about 250 million places across the world.

For instance, you could ask the car to guide you to the nearest fine-dining restaurant for a unique culinary experience, and then follow up with questions like: “What is the signature dish?” and “Does the restaurant have good reviews?”

Mercedes says the new AI Agent will be able to handle complex, multi-turn dialogue. It can also retain memory of conversations, allowing you to pick up on previous discussions at a later stage.

Following its debut in the CLA, the updated Virtual Assistant will be rolled out to other Mercedes models.

The Automotive AI Agent was created using Google’s Gemini models, and it enables multimodal reasoning capabilities through natural language speech interactions while using information from the Google Maps Platform.

“Our new Automotive AI Agent will help drivers navigate and search with in-vehicle assistants, so those interactions are more natural and helpful,” says Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

“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.”

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