Mercedes-Benz and Google Partner on AI-powered Conversational Search within Navigation Systems

• The partnership will enable drivers to have natural-language conversations with the MBUX Virtual Assistant to get information from Google Maps Platform about nearby points of interest and more
• Mercedes-Benz is one of the first automakers to use Google Cloud's new Automotive AI Agent solution

STUTTGART, Germany and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercedes-Benz and Google Cloud today announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to introduce new conversational capabilities to the MBUX Virtual Assistant, powered by Google Cloud's new Automotive AI Agent. Built using Gemini on Vertex AI, Google Cloud's Automotive AI Agent is specially tuned for the automotive industry and can reference information from Google Maps Platform to give users more detailed and personalised conversational responses about navigation, points of interest, and more.

Google Maps Platform provides Mercedes-Benz owners with fresh and factual information about 250 million places around the  world, and the map is updated nearly in real time, with over 100 million updates made to the map each day. With the enhanced search and navigation experience, users can converse naturally with the MBUX Virtual Assistant and get answers to questions like: "Could you guide me to the nearest fine-dining restaurant for a unique culinary experience?". Users can also ask follow up questions, like: "Does the restaurant have good reviews?" or "What is the chef's signature dish?" and the MBUX Virtual Assistant can respond with accurate, up-to-date information and display navigation details through the vehicle's native interface. The new experience will be available in the MBUX Virtual Assistant, with Mercedes-Benz's new CLA series later this year.

Google Cloud's Automotive AI Agent will also enable the MBUX Virtual Assistant to handle complex, multi-turn dialog and can retain memory of conversations, which means users can continue conversations and reference information throughout their drives.

"At Mercedes-Benz, we seek to offer our customers an exceptional digital experience. Our partnership with Google Cloud will further enhance in-car navigation, combining sophisticated location data with generative AI.Launching with the new CLA, our next-gen navigation will allow drivers and passengers to use voice commands to obtain comprehensive and personalised information within seconds."

Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG

"Mercedes-Benz is known for providing an amazing driving experience, and our partnership will bring cutting edge AI breakthroughs to make those experiences even better. Our new Automotive AI Agent will help drivers navigate and search with in-vehicle assistants, so those interactions are more natural and helpful. This is just the beginning of how agentic capabilities can transform the automotive industry and I'm excited to see our partnership drive progress forward."

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet

Google Cloud's Automotive AI Agent enables automakers to leverage the power of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to build and deploy customized, first-party, voice assistant experiences with state-of-the-art AI quality. Automotive AI Agent was built using Google's Gemini models, which enables multimodal reasoning capabilities through natural language speech interactions and uses information from Google Maps Platform.

The new AI-enhanced Point-of-Interest search and navigation feature is coming to the new Mercedes-Benz CLA later this year. It will be the first vehicle designed with the new Mercedes-Benz operating system, MB.OS. A rollout to further models with the MBUX Voice Assistant is also planned.

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About Mercedes-Benz AG
Mercedes-Benz AG is part of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG with a total of around 166,000 employees worldwide and is responsible for the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans. Ola Källenius is Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. The company focuses on the development, production and sales of passenger cars, vans and vehicle-related services. Furthermore, the company aspires to be the leader in the fields of electric mobility and vehicle software. The product portfolio comprises the Mercedes-Benz brand with Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and G-Class with their all-electric models as well as products of the smart brand. Mercedes-Benz AG is one of the world's largest manufacturers of luxury passenger cars. In 2023 it sold around two million passenger cars and 447,800 vans. In its two business segments, Mercedes-Benz AG is continually expanding its worldwide production network with more than 30 production sites on four continents, while gearing itself to meet the requirements of electric mobility. At the same time, the company is constructing and extending its global battery production network on three continents. As sustainability is the guiding principle of the Mercedes-Benz strategy and for the company itself, this means creating lasting value for all stakeholders: for customers, employees, investors, business partners and society as a whole. The basis for this is the sustainable business strategy of the Mercedes-Benz Group. The company thus takes responsibility for the economic, ecological and social effects of its business activities and looks at the entire value chain.

About Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

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SOURCE Google Cloud