This ChatGPT integration with Audi is what Cortana should have been and what Copilot needs to be on Windows 11

What you need to know

• Audi announced an integration between several of its vehicles and ChatGPT.
• Drivers will be able to use voice commands to control their vehicle and ask ChatGPT for assistance.
• The functionality supports natural language, making it easier to communicate with the tool.
• Audi assistant will only send a query to ChatGPT to perform tasks it cannot handle locally.

Over two million Audi vehicles will soon integrate with ChatGPT . The AI-powered chatbot, which runs on Microsoft Azure, will supercharge voice controls in select vehicles. Audi assistant will be able to perform tasks such as running the infotainment system, controlling navigation, and answering general questions. Select Audi cars made from 2021 will support the enhanced voice controls powered by ChatGPT, as well as new vehicles like the Q6 e-tron.

“With the seamless integration of ChatGPT into our voice control, we are combining the strengths of both applications,” said Marcus Keith, Vice President of Interior, Infotainment, and Connectivity Development at Audi. “In addition to a range of voice-controlled functions, our customers will now benefit from simple and secure access to AI-based knowledge. This is the next step towards a best-in-class in-cabin experience in Audi vehicles.”

One of the main benefits of integrating ChatGPT with a voice assistant is that the tool supports communication with natural language. Having to repeat yourself or rephrase a prompt on your phone is irritating but generally not dangerous. Being able to talk to your vehicle with natural language reduces risks by allowing you to keep your eyes on the road.

Audi assistant will determine if it needs to send a query to ChatGPT or just respond without using the AI tool. In the future, Audi assistant will be able to answer questions about tire pressure and other parts of the vehicle.

Audi's integration between ChatGPT and Audi assistant sounds useful for those with supported vehicles, but it also brought my mind to Windows 11 and what the PC operating system's digital assistant should be like.

Copilot on Windows 11

When Microsoft first launched Copilot , the tool was essentially a shortcut to the Copilot web experience. Very few integrations between Copilot and a PC were available in the early preview days of Copilot. Microsoft then worked on several ways to have Copilot interact with your PC. But then, Microsoft shifted its plans for Copilot on Windows 11. Right now, the tool does not integrate with Windows 11 at all . That will change in the future, but right now Copilot on Windows 11 is just a shortcut to the web.

Audi's integration between its vehicles and ChatGPT seems like what digital assistants always should have been. You can summon Audi assistant with the push of a button or a voice command and then speak with it naturally. The tool only calls up ChatGPT when needed, performing other tasks without using AI.

Cortana was ahead of its time, particularly on the mobile side of things. But the digital assistant never felt like a true companion... a copilot if you will. Science fiction movies feature assistants that you can talk to as if they were a person to get things done. ChatGPT moves us in that direction, and I hope more companies use the technology to power digital assistants.

It's easy to get caught up in if generative AI is useful, but many seem to have glossed over the fact that we now have a digital tool available at the push of a button that you can just talk to and it figures out what you mean. You don't have to learn an exact list of commands to prompt ChatGPT. Of course, understanding how prompts work can improve your workflow when using the tool, but you can interact with ChatGPT without studying a manual or a list of tasks the tool can perform.

How many times have you asked Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa a question that would make sense to any human that speaks the same language as you, only to have the digital assistant fail to understand the query? ChatGPT can lower the chances of that happening and translate everyday speech into specific commands that a system understands. I just hope Microsoft and other tech giants keep an eye on what Audi is doing with ChatGPT and follow suit.