As we approach the fine-tuning phase of Generative AI, the completion between large language models (LLM) is intensifying. Mercedes-Benz recently announced its extended collaboration with Google Cloud to incorporate advanced AI-powered conversational search capabilities into its Mercedes Benz User Experience (MBUX) Virtual Assistant. The popular luxury car brand wants to enable drivers to interact with the Virtual Assistant through natural language, enabling seamless communication for navigation and recommendations. According to reports, the new version of MBUX will allow users to ask nuanced questions, such as, “What’s the quickest route to a five-star restaurant that’s still open and within 10 miles?”

This partnership focuses on integrating Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent, which is built on its Gemini AI models, into the in-car system. This innovation allows drivers to interact with the Virtual Assistant through natural language, enabling seamless communication for navigation, recommendations, and more. By utilizing Google Maps Platform data, the system provides highly accurate and personalized responses, pulling from a database of approximately 250 million points of interest and receiving over 100 million daily updates.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s Copilot, which is based on the LLM of OpenAI, has launched a pay-as-you-go chat service that enables companies to deploy on-demand AI agents. With this, users can develop AI agents for activities like market research, strategy document authoring, meeting preparation with Copilot Chat, and using natural languages like English and Mandarin. However, a $30 monthly Microsoft 365 Copilot membership is needed to use capabilities like making PowerPoint slides and summarizing and transcribing Teams calls. As the competition starts to gain momentum, we have come up with a yearly special issue shedding light on how tech leaders are navigating Singapore’s GenAI era.

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