Mercedes just couldn’t resist. As artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT continue to find the spotlight, the German automaker recently showed off how its future luxury cars and SUVs could one day integrate the tech to inform and delight passengers. We recently learned about the new 2024 E-Class interior and Mercedes’ new operating system. Called, MB.OS, the tech will power upcoming infotainment systems as well as facilitate in-car purchases and entertainment. After we heard about what sounds like next-level voice commands, we hopped in the driver’s seat and had a few back-and-forths with the prototype in-car voice assistant.

Where it Works

When you move on from giggle-worthy questions like, “What’s the best way to make scrambled eggs?” you start to see the value in a more intelligent voice assistant. A few brands have started to lean into voice commands over the last few years as a way to do so much more than dictate an address for navigation. Although some may welcome driving time as a brief and blissful moment to yourself, a more intelligent voice assistant could help in many situations; here are a few.

If you’re in an unfamiliar city, you could ask your Mercedes what’s the best Thai restaurant in town. That’s pretty standard questioning for any in-car voice-assistant these days. In our case, another journalist asked the car for the worst restaurant around. The car paused for a moment, noted that different people like different things, and then scoured online reviews to give us a name. That’s sort of new.

Most importantly, the Chat GPT-enabled voice assistant has its priorities straight regarding automotive media. When asked what it thought of MotorTrend, it said it thinks the brand is “a great source of information for anyone interested in cars. They provide detailed reviews and helpful advice on the latest models as well as a wide range of content related to the automotive industry. … I suggest subscribing to MotorTrend’s newsletter.” It’s possible we made that last sentence up, but you can see how this could be a hit with friends and in-laws.

Downsides

The system, at least as it was presented on this test SUV, is slow to respond. We tasked it to create a geography trivia game, and after some time, it prompted us with “What is the capital of India.” The system barely gave us enough time to consider the correct answer (it’s New Delhi). Time to bring out the world’s smallest violin, we know. Still, it came up with its own trivia (or maybe it just sourced it from something online).

We hope future versions of Mercedes’ voice assistant could also sound less artificial, too. Finally, when it comes to basic questions to help identify things you knew but forgot, we hope drivers will take a minute to try and remember it for themselves before instantly asking the car for help.

When Will My EQS SUV Have ChatGPT?

Mercedes says this is just a study, at this point. For this Silicon Valley press event, it was a fun way of showing how the automaker’s new infotainment system can be updated and improved via over-the-air updates well after you bought the car. We don’t think ChatGPT, Bing, Baidu, or Google–the services Mercedes mentioned to us–will necessarily be the central part of the Mercedes operating system anytime soon, though it was fun to play with. Mercedes has made it clear that although it welcomes partners like Nvidia and Google, it wants to make sure at least some of the tech is created in-house.

“Software is a core competence for a car company,” said Ola Källenius, CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group at the event, adding that the company understands you can’t always do everything yourself. Whatever form voice commands take in future Mercedes cars, the tech will need to be easy for everyone to use, quick to respond, and bug-free. That’s harder than it sounds, but we hope Mercedes’ experiments yield results.

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