close
close

Stop yelling at your Volkswagen and start communicating with it via ChatGPT

Posted on by angelo
Stop yelling at your Volkswagen and start communicating with it via ChatGPT

It’s no well-kept government secret that Volkswagen and OpenAI’s chatbot and virtual assistant, ChatGPT, have been getting a lot of traction lately through texts, emojis and vehicle infotainment features. Until now, customers screamed at their center console when menus, submenus or certain features were missing or hidden in plain sight. However, with ChatGPT integration, drivers will receive a wide range of additional information simply by using natural language.

Remember in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), when Dave asked the HAL 9000 AI system if it could open the pod bay doors, but after a pause disturbingly silent, HAL simply replied: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do this,” thus making cinema history? Well… although we are still far from such a scenario, thanks to the integration of ChatGPT vehicles, we could soon communicate in the same organic way with Volkswagen vehicles.

VW is one of the first high-volume brands to integrate the popular chatbot with the help of Cerence, a company with 20 years of experience in transportation and AI. Cérence boasts that it is “the global industry leader in AI-based interaction in transportation.“More than 475 million cars worldwide use their technology, including Stellantis, Ford, BMW, Honda, Subaru and many other impactful manufacturers.

In January, Microsoft announced that it had begun collaborating with the company using ChatGPT through Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to “advancing a next-generation in-vehicle experience, powered by generative AI.” In less fancy marketing terms, the search tool aims to help consumers or drivers find what they are looking for more easily. Sometimes the car will even tell you out loud what results it found, you n So you don’t have to take your eyes off the road.

It is available in new ranges, such as the fully electric ID. models (software version 4.0 and above), Golf, Tiguan and Passat, via the infotainment package or the IDA voice assistant.

Volkswagen Golf GTI

Photo: Volkswagen

“By seamlessly integrating ChatGPT into the backend of our voice assistant, we now offer drivers the ability to use this artificial intelligence on a daily basis, highlighting the innovation of our products,” said Kai Grünitz, member of the brand management board responsible for development at VW.

Until recently, drivers could have asked IDA to control the infotainment system, navigation and climate control. But with ChatGPT, it’s now possible to look up detailed information about tourist attractions and sports scores or even solve math equations on the go if you’re a science teacher or something.

This should all happen fine using natural language, as long as it’s in English, US and UK, Spanish, Czech and German. After saying “Hello IDA” or by pressing the button on the steering wheel, users can request, provided they have a VW Connect/VW Connect Plus account. Now here’s the kicker.

The operating system (OS) will use IDA to the best of “its” abilities, but only when “she” fails to provide the necessary information will the question be sent anonymously to ChatGPT . The latter is just one source used by Cerence Chat Pro for IDA. The comment voice won’t change, just the “search engine”, so to speak. Volkswagen says ChatGPT will not have access to vehicle data.

Even more, to ensure confidentiality, the questions and answers will only be available temporarily. They will be deleted as soon as the AI ​​answers the question or resolves the problem. It’s a funny reminder of “this message will self-destruct in five seconds” from Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise.

Announcement of the Volkswagen 2025 range

Photo: Volkswagen

For the more skeptical, the voice assistant can be deactivated in the settings menu of the Volkswagen app or from the privacy settings of the infotainment system.

That being said, as with any software, certain gaps or bugs are likely to arise from time to time. The ChatGPT version is 3.5 Turbo, which will not always have the correct answer. Sometimes it can even result in complete gibberish.

Even the 2025 VW Golf GTI Clubsport, which develops 296 hp or 300 hp and 295 lb-ft with 400 Nm of torque, was not spared from this integration. Trying to reach its top speed of 166 mph or 267 km/h while talking to the Clubsport’s AI about its internal readings could be quite an experience.

If we were to put on our tin foil hats for a second and jump into the future a bit, from a security perspective it might even alert us if there’s a problem with a component, system, etc. It could even recommend the correct speed when you’re drifting around a corner by pre-analyzing maps, topography included.

Perhaps AI algorithms could properly tune the suspension and play with other control systems based on road surface, corner angle, recent weather conditions and all that tech jazz: “I’m sorry, Dave, but I can’t let you exceed 100 mph for the next 10 miles.“All joking aside, increased attention to vehicle and driver safety could be achieved in the near future thanks to AI.