BMW are bringing Alex+ in their infotainment system; What to expect?

New Delhi: BMW cars are going to become the first brand to integrate Amazon’s next-generation voice assistant technology. The German automaker’s infotainment system have for long been using Alexa Custom Assistant, the platform which lets companies build their own artificial intelligence assistants based on Alexa tech.

Going ahead, however, the voice which responds to the driver’s commands in BMW will take advantage of the Alexa+ architecture, which is based on generative AI. That means owners now will have a more natural in-car interaction with Alexa+, not being limited to a few words. 

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Amazon have said that Alexa+ can access over 70 large language models (LLMs) and that conversations that were started with other Alexa+ devices can be continued in the car. Theoretically, the driver should be able to give commands ranging from finding “DC fast charger” to play “road trip playlist”.

Amazon noted that integrating Alexa+ in vehicles shows a big leap forward for in-vehicle conversation with AI, moving ahead of just structured voice commands to deliver truly natural conversations and intelligent capabilities. 

BMW’s Alexa+ integration would look similar to Volvo’s integration of Google Gemini, which is also an AI-based personal assistant. The difference, however, is that Volvo uses Google Maps as the go-to navigation system and that theoretically is easier to integrate Google’s voice assistant. Volvo’s entire of infotainment system is based on Google’s Android Automotive OS.

For BMW, its latest generation of iDrive infotainment systems is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and includes a custom-built navigation system. BMW are yet to say which models will be the first to come with the new generative AI-based voice assistant, and Amazon have said that the rollout will happen “soon”