GM Unveils Plans for Proprietary AI Assistant, Set to Launch Later This Year

General Motors is gearing up to launch a proprietary in-vehicle artificial intelligence system later this year. The new AI assistant will be designed specifically with GM customers in mind and promises to offer more integrated capabilities than the company’s recently launched Gemini AI assistant from Google.

The native AI assistant, which has not yet been named, aims to combine conversational AI with GM vehicle knowledge and OnStar intelligence to create a more comprehensive experience. According to Anna Santos, GM director of product management for voice and AI/machine learning, this new system will be able to better understand the vehicle, its drivers, and their needs.

GM’s Gemini AI bot was announced last year as part of the company’s plans to integrate AI into millions of 2022 model-year vehicles and newer. However, details on the technology were scarce at the time. Santos revealed that the new GM assistant will be able to control various aspects of the vehicle, such as temperature and radio controls, in a more intuitive way.

The Gemini AI bot has already begun offering ‘live sessions’ where it can engage in conversation or play games like trivia or 20 questions. However, this new system promises to go beyond what a general-purpose assistant can do by leveraging GM’s proprietary data and expertise.

Santos emphasized that the goal of this project is not just to create an AI assistant but to develop a deeper understanding of vehicle ownership and operation. The company is working with a large language model provider on its technology, which will enable features such as predictive maintenance and vehicle telemetry.

The new GM AI assistant may also offer more personalized experiences for drivers, including the ability to tailor settings like music, seats, heating/cooling, and door lock controls based on specific needs. For example, parents could use voice commands to set up a ‘kids setting’ that adjusts various aspects of the vehicle’s environment.

Santos noted that this is just the beginning of GM’s AI journey and that there are limitations to what an AI system can do when it operates independently from the vehicle’s systems. The company aims to leverage its proprietary data and expertise to create more tailored experiences for its customers, marking a significant step forward in the development of AI assistants.