Volkswagen of America has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to incorporate generative AI into the myVW mobile app, the company said in a press release on Sept. 24. The German automaker is leveraging Google Cloud’s AI and machine learning capabilities as well as expertise of Google Cloud Consulting to power its new myVW Virtual Assistant and offer vehicle owners intuitive access to critical vehicle information and services. Volkswagen is currently offering AI-powered Virtual Assistant within myVW app to all model year 2024 Atlas and Atlas Cross sport utility vehicle owners.
The myVW Virtual Assistant leverages the connected car data from Volkswagen and the Gemini models on Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, enabling users to interact in a conversational manner with their vehicle's owners' manuals and receive visual assistance for dashboard indicators through their smartphone cameras.
"We’re driven to introduce new technologies and features that enhance the ownership experience for all of our Volkswagen customers and create love for our vehicles," said Abdallah Shanti, chief information officer for Volkswagen Group of America. "AI is emerging as a utility tool for Volkswagen owners to better understand their vehicles and get answers to questions faster and easier. Thanks to our strong collaboration with Google Cloud, we’re able to bring valuable technology into our vehicles that help us successfully connect to the car and our customers."
The collaboration between Volkswagen and Google Cloud also involves the utilization of Google Cloud's BigQuery and the tuning of Gemini models across various data sources such as vehicle manuals, customer FAQs, help center articles and Volkswagen's official YouTube videos. Google Cloud Consulting has played a pivotal role throughout the app's developmental stages, ensuring it adheres to legal standards and Volkswagen's high-quality benchmarks.
