Volkswagen cars give an early taster of Apple’s approach to ChatGPT integration

We won’t be able to experience Apple’s approach to ChatGPT integration until a later iOS 18 beta, but owners of some of the latest Volkswagen cars are being offered what sounds like a very similar experience.

A number of VW cars already have a built-in AI voice assistant, and the company has announced that its capabilities are now being supplemented by ChatGPT …

Volkswagen’s IDA voice assistant

Many of the latest VW cars have a built-in AI known as IDA. This allows drivers to use voice commands to control things like the navigation system, climate control, and infotainment services.

Owners can activate IDA by saying “Hello IDA” or by pressing a button on the steering wheel.

VW now using Apple’s approach to ChatGPT integration

What Apple announced was a three-tiered approach:

• As many tasks as possible will be performed on-device
• Next in line will be its own AI servers, Private Cloud Compute
• The fallback will be a third-party AI system, with ChatGPT the first to be used

VW appears to be taking a similar approach, only without the second tier. As many commands and queries as possible will be processed in-vehicle by IDA. If IDA can’t handle them, then they’ll be passed off to ChatGPT.

The company explains how it works.

[Through] the IDA online voice assistant, the vehicle is able to answer questions about various topics.

But with the introduction of ChatGPT, the possibilities have expanded significantly: for example, AI can provide information on tourist attractions, report on past football tournaments or help solve maths problems. All of this works intuitively: the driver simply talks to the assistant in natural language, and there is no need for them to take their eyes off the road.

Volkswagen customers with an existing account for VW Connect/VW Connect Plus can use the IDA voice assistant as usual – they do not require additional access or an additional app. The digital assistant is launched by saying “Hello IDA” or pressing the button on the steering wheel. Only if a query cannot be answered by the Volkswagen system is it forwarded anonymously to ChatGPT; the answer is then provided in the familiar Volkswagen voice.

VW stresses that ChatGPT has no way to identify the driver – it will only know that the query has come from one of its cars – and there are other safety and privacy safeguards.

At no point does ChatGPT gain access to vehicle data. Questions and answers are deleted immediately in order to ensure optimal data protection. The online voice assistant can be deactivated either in the settings area of the Volkswagen app or in the infotainment system’s privacy settings.

ChatGPT integration is available in Europe in all electric ID models, as well as the latest Golf, Tiguan, and Passat. The company says it is coming soon the US. A VW Connect account is required.

Via Engadget. Photo: VW.