BMW expands its voice assistant with Alexa+

In 2018, BMW introduced its BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, a voice assistant that functions as a digital expert and co-pilot. It is activated primarily via the voice command ‘Hey BMW’ or a custom wake word. Since then, the Munich-based manufacturer has continually enhanced the system. For instance, in 2022, an Amazon Alexa Custom Assistant was integrated to provide greater diversity of information, faster responses, and improved comprehension.

The latest version, unveiled by BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, offers even more capabilities. The integration of Amazon Alexa+ into the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant represents a significant technological leap, designed to deliver substantial added value for customers. Alexa+ introduces a Large Language Model (LLM) into the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant for the first time—essentially a generative AI that understands language and can formulate responses independently. Think of it as a conversational ChatGPT for cars, developed jointly by Amazon and BMW.

To clarify: the classic Alexa voice assistant from Amazon, previously used in the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, is a command-based system that relies on specific, predefined voice commands (intents) to trigger functions. In contrast, the newly developed Alexa+ from Amazon understands natural language and generates fluent responses independently. This enables human-like conversations.

BMW provides an example: when asked, ‘Hey BMW, what is the world’s most famous painting and where can I find it?’, the system responds with the correct answer—the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. The system can directly link this response to other vehicle functions, such as navigation. For example, a request like ‘Take me there!’ can initiate route guidance to the artwork’s location. As shown in the video above, it is also possible to ask about suitable charging stops along the way during a natural conversation and integrate them into the route planning. Moreover, unlike a conventional Alexa system, Alexa+ can understand and process multiple requests simultaneously, as demonstrated at the beginning of the video.

BMW is the first car manufacturer to integrate Alexa+ into its vehicles. ‘Our partnership with Amazon is based on a shared vision of technological excellence,’ said Stephan Durach, the responsible BMW manager. “This collaboration has resulted in a product that sets new standards in the naturalness of human-vehicle interaction through the use of artificial intelligence. With the integration of Amazon’s Alexa+ into the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, the vehicle becomes an intelligent companion for its users.”

BMW will first introduce Alexa+ in the new all-electric BMW iX3, ‘by the second half of 2026 at the latest’ in Germany and the USA. The foundation for this in the BMW iX3 is the new operating system, BMW Panoramic iDrive with BMW Operating System X. Additional markets and model series are expected to follow gradually.

As is typical for an electronics trade show, BMW also highlighted several entertainment features of the new iX3 at CES. In addition to the streaming service Disney+, customers in the BMW iX3 will have access to the Video App, which enables video streaming on the central display when the vehicle is stationary, with a continuously expanding range of content such as news, live streams, and on-demand videos. The BMW ConnectedDrive Store will soon also include the YouTube Music app for the first time, expanding the offering of over 85 apps worldwide in the categories of Music & Audio, Entertainment, Gaming, News, Travel & Local. With the Zoom app, video calls can be made on the iX3’s central display while the vehicle is stationary. As soon as the vehicle starts moving, the video transmission stops, and the conversation can seamlessly continue via audio.

bmwgroup.com (Alexa+), bmwgroup.com (Entertainment)