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Mercedes-Benz gets all-new Google Cloud Automotive AI Agent

Your Mercedes-Benz is about to get a lot more smarter.

Luxury car dashboard with digital displays
Image: Mercedes-Benz

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Google Cloud unveiled its Automotive AI Agent on January 13, naming the Mercedes-Benz CLA as the first vehicle to feature this technology later in 2025. 

This Agent will improve Mercedes’ MBUX Virtual Assistant, enabling it to handle a broader range of conversational functions with passengers.

This next-generation Agent is built on Google’s Gemini LLM and uses Vertex AI. It is tailored to provide automakers with tools to create personalized, intuitive in-car assistants. 

Mercedes-Benz partners with Google AI

Car dashboard with voice assistant feature.
Image: Mercedes-Benz

The development builds on the preview of Mercedes’ next-generation assistant showcased at CES 2024, though details about its underlying large language model (LLM) were withheld at the time. 

The current MBUX system supports basic voice commands and retrieves information via ChatGPT and Bing, offering straightforward, static responses similar to Siri or Google Assistant. 

In contrast, the new assistant, powered by Google’s Automotive AI Agent, promises dynamic, conversational interactions more akin to ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode.

It supports multimodal (text, voice, visual) and multilingual inputs, facilitating seamless, multi-turn dialogues and the ability to recall previous conversations. 

For instance, the AI can identify nearby Italian restaurants, provide reviews, and highlight popular dishes.

Moreover, the system integrates Google Maps to deliver real-time, accurate data on over 250 million points of interest, traffic updates, and personalized navigation insights.

Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, emphasized the collaboration’s goal of improving the digital in-car experience through advanced generative AI and location data. 

Mercedes plans to expand the upgraded MBUX assistant to additional models but has yet to disclose specifics.

With this, Google aims to improve automotive AI, delivering more natural, context-aware interactions that bridge functionality and convenience, redefining how passengers and drivers engage with in-car systems. 

The company says that all-new AI-powered features and navigation will be available to the Mercedes-Benz CLA later this year but has not yet specified exactly when and which models it will be integrated into.

What do you think about AI agents in your cars? Would you want this as a feature, or would you rather cars remain as they are? We want to hear your thoughts in the comments, below or via our Twitter or Facebook.

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Ronil is a Computer Engineer by education and a consumer technology writer by choice. Over the course of his professional career, his work has appeared in reputable publications like MakeUseOf, TechJunkie, GreenBot, and many more. When not working, you’ll find him at the gym breaking a new PR.

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