Google Cloud has announced that it is expanding its partnership with Mercedes-Benz to enable the automaker to improve its customer experience by leveraging AI and generative AI (gen AI) technologies on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform.
Mercedes will enhance its online storefront with cutting-edge e-commerce capabilities, including a gen AI-powered smart sales assistant, as well as new Google-quality search and recommendations features. The company also plans to use Google Cloud AI to create a seamless and helpful call center experience, and will leverage AI and gen AI tools, such as Vertex AI and Google’s Gemini models, to personalize its marketing campaigns for customers worldwide.
“Partnering with the very best in their respective fields is an important part of our software strategy – Google is the perfect example of that. With Google Cloud, Mercedes-Benz is building new ways to deliver the most intelligent vehicles to our customers and to create personalized, intuitive experiences,” said Ola Källenius, Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz is planning to improve its e-commerce approach with the help of Google Cloud’s AI technologies. As more customers begin to research and buy cars online, Mercedes-Benz aims to make its online storefronts an extension of its showroom floor. To achieve this, Mercedes plans to use Google’s Gemini models to deploy a new sales assistant on its websites. The Mercedes-Benz Virtual Assistant (MVA) will be able to communicate in natural language, assisting shoppers in finding a car model that fits their needs, scheduling a test drive, or even starting a purchase.
Mercedes-Benz will also explore Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search offering to incorporate Google-quality search and recommendations capabilities directly into its websites. This will make it even easier for consumers to search and shop. With improved e-commerce functionalities, customers can use both the smart sales assistant or the search bar on Mercedes’ website to find relevant car models and products through broad or nuanced queries like “Newest EV models that seat five people,” or “2024 red wagon.”
The Mercedes-Benz Virtual Assistant (MVA) has already been deployed in European markets, including the UK and Germany. The rollout of the smart sales assistant to websites is planned for Europe and overseas in 2024.
“Mercedes-Benz has a long history of using technology to create exceptional experiences for their customers,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re excited to help them apply Google’s advanced AI to engage with customers in new ways from improving customer service to optimizing their website experience, with much more to come from this collaboration in the future.”
Over the last six months, Mercedes has incorporated Google Cloud’s conversational AI technology, Dialogflow, into its call centers in the United States. The automated agents have handled over a million calls and have been successful in assisting Mercedes customers in over 30 languages with their lease, payment, and upgrade inquiries. As a result of the success, Mercedes plans to expand the use of conversational AI in other markets. By implementing AI, Mercedes aims to free up their service agents’ time and allow them to focus on more complex and demanding customer requests that require a human touch.
Mercedes-Benz has also been utilizing Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform to enhance the value of customer data, which is managed with Google Cloud’s data warehouse platform, BigQuery. The automaker has been transforming its website experience in the United States with personalized content that is driven by improved audience segmentation.
Additionally, Mercedes is using Google Cloud technologies to develop its next generation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The Next Generation Internal Development and Test Platform for autonomous driving will use Google Cloud as its backbone, helping to increase Mercedes’ product development efficiency and flexibility. The ability of Google Cloud to process large amounts of data and scale AI workloads will also contribute to making Mercedes’ vehicles even more intelligent and AI-driven.
This announcement marks a new phase of the strategic partnership between Google and Mercedes-Benz, which started in February 2023 when Mercedes-Benz selected Google Maps Platform as the basis for its own navigation system. Today, more than three million customers have access to reliable Place Details from Google in their Mercedes vehicles. The partnership has also included YouTube as part of the Mercedes infotainment experience, and the carmaker has leveraged several of Google Cloud’s AI, data, and open infrastructure solutions.
