GenAI is hopping into the passenger seat

GenAI is in your inbox, your search results, your Zoom meetings—and soon, maybe, your car.

GM recently became the latest automaker to announce plans to introduce an AI chatbot powered by Google Gemini, joining others in the industry that see opportunities to jump on the hype train and personalize the in-vehicle experience.

“You’ll be able to draft and send messages by voice, get personalized suggestions for a stop or what to do, or even have a productive chat to prepare for a meeting,” Dave Richardson, GM’s former SVP of software and services engineering, said during an event in October. “And in the future, we will introduce our own AI, fine-tuned to your vehicle. Think of this as an assistant. It’s going to anticipate your needs, offer timely help, and make every journey more personal and more enjoyable.”

“It will precondition your vehicle based on your schedule, optimize routes and errands around your business hours, enhance safety, coach you through a parallel park, or even teach you how to use SuperCruise,” he added. “This is how we unlock the full potential of the car, which you’ll be able to control with privacy and safety top of mind.”

Industry trend: In a recent analysis, S&P Global Mobility projected that the number of light-duty vehicles with GenAI chatbots will grow from 2.7 million in 2024 to nearly 28 million by 2031.

“We’re getting a lot of questions around it. I think all OEMs are definitely looking at this,” Anna Buettner, a principal analyst with S&P Global Mobility, told Tech Brew. “But the integration has to make sense. If the connection is lost while you’re driving, that’s super frustrating. You don’t want to add one more frustrating thing to the user experience.”

S&P Global Mobility predicted that in the next few years, “the feature set will expand from conversational queries (navigation, music, information) to proactive assistance (predictive maintenance, personalized routing, vehicle status explanation).” Analysts expect vehicles to “increasingly use a hybrid compute model” that combines on-board and cloud-based AI.

Many of the major AI companies have introduced automotive solutions. And numerous automakers—including Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Hyundai, and Tesla—plan to introduce GenAI in their vehicles or already have.

In January, Mercedes-Benz announced the launch of an upgraded virtual assistant, the MBUX Virtual Assistant powered by Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent. Google touted an upgraded search and navigation process that allows users to “converse naturally.”

“You’ve got an assistant that sits with you in the car, that takes care of all that hassle,” Steve Basra, Google Cloud’s global head of automotive, previously told Tech Brew. “That is the experience, I believe, that people want, and that’s the experience they expect from these agents.”

Earlier this year, according to Automotive Dive, Google said it was adding its Gemini assistant to Android Auto app, which enables smartphone mirroring in the vehicle.

According to S&P Global Mobility analysts, GenAI chatbots could help with EV charging, navigation, and voice-based knowledge interactions. Challenges exist, however, around data privacy and the risk of LLMs hallucinating, among other things.

“The way it’s integrated is important, but that’s with any type of new feature like that,” Buettner said. “Just like the integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, it was a disaster in some cases, and other OEMs did a pretty good job figuring that out.”

Dos and don’ts: Richardson told Tech Brew that GM execs “don’t want to put technology for technology’s sake” into vehicles.

“So when we look at AI, I’m very much about practical AI,” he said. “What can we bring that really provides value, and not just sort of like a neat party trick?”

He pointed to improvements to existing voice assistance features in cars to make them less frustrating and buggy, and more capable of engaging in natural conversation.

As for what customers don’t want, Richardson said that it comes down to quality. Drivers get frustrated when tech doesn’t work. And he doesn’t see value in pushing in-vehicle AI for use cases that don’t make sense to use your car for, like planning a vacation.

“You could do it, but it kind of feels a little bit gimmicky,” he said. “What value does it have in the vehicle, versus why wouldn’t I just do that on my phone? Those are the kinds of things that I think we’re trying to get away from. Because we do believe that the vehicle itself…has unique things that your phone would never do.”

EV maker Rivian hasn’t yet announced plans to integrate GenAI into its vehicles, but it’s hinted at plans to do so in the future.

Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s chief software officer, previously told Tech Brew that the company has “ongoing projects for integration and leveraging both traditional AI and generative AI for the in-cabin vehicle experience” that would roll out once demonstrations “meet the right criteria.”

“Once we’re able to master all of this, then the possibilities are infinite,” he said.

CFO Claire McDonough teased future plans for GenAI integration while speaking with reporters in Detroit last month. She said she sees in-vehicle GenAI as “a really great application,” citing benefits like time and productivity gains for drivers: “We’re really excited about the future enhancements that can happen in the vehicles.”

McDonough declined to detail Rivian’s specific plans, but said there are advantages to getting in the GenAI game early.

“We’re seeing leapfrogs in terms of performance,” she said. “While there would be an understanding that everything may not be 100% perfect out of the gate, it’s being there for when the advancements are there.”