An AI agent built on Google’s technology allows Mercedes-Benz to bring conversational search to its navigation system -- expected to debut later this year when the luxury automaker introduces conversational capabilities into its MBUX Virtual Assistant.
Google's technology enables Mercedes-Benz's MBUX Virtual Assistant to handle complex, multi-turn questions verbally. The system can retain the conversation in memory, and recall the dialogue so users can continue interactions and reference information throughout the drive. It's not clear whether the data is stored after the car is turned off.
The feature is powered by Google Cloud's Automotive AI Agent, and built using Gemini on Vertex AI via Google Cloud, which is geared for the automotive industry. It references information from Google Maps to provide details and personalized conversational responses related to navigation, points of interest, and more.
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In the past year, Google updated Maps with electric vehicle navigation, road search, immersive view for roads and places, location history, and Gemini AI integrations.
MBUX Virtual Assistant can handle complex, multi-turn questions verbally. The Point-of-Interest search and navigation feature will debut in the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, and come with the newly designed Mercedes-Benz operating system, MB.OS.
Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX Virtual Assistant was announced at NRF 2025, the retail industry’s annual show. It got underway this past weekend in New York.
Google Maps provides Mercedes-Benz owners with information on about 250 million places worldwide, and the map is updated in near real time, with more than 100 million updates made to the map daily.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet,
stated that this is the beginning of how agentic, autonomous AI agents and capabilities can transform the automotive industry.
One of the more interesting and useful features that comes
from Google Maps is that the navigation system will check for restaurant reviews if asked. For example, consumers searching for Italian food could request a list for the best restaurants along a
specific route.
Last week, Near Media reported that Google started to roll out a Gemini AI-based Q&A feature to Google Business Profiles (GBP) and it appears likely it will be replacing Google Q&A, which has silently gone missing on some listings.
Google's Ask Maps AI feature was first announced in late October with other AI enhancements, but had not been widely visible. AI-powered review summaries and the option to ask detailed questions about places are also on the horizon, reported Greg Sterling, cofounder of Near Media.
The interface allows for compound questions, although the more questions asked, the more likely to be told by the platform that there is not enough information about this place to answer your question, he wrote in a post.
Luxury automaker Porsche already supports a navigational conversational interface, but it does not integrate with Google Maps for additional information like reviews.
A car that records you ... then plays back stuff you had said before ... will never be on my purchase options.