BMW Group Is the First OEM to Deliver Voice Technology Using Alexa Custom Assistant

BMW Group’s history is a testament to the ingenuity, determination, and passion of its engineers and designers, who have consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in the automotive realm by continually innovating their products. Adopting Alexa Custom Assistant (ACA), BMW powers its new Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) with cutting-edge voice AI, which enhances the in-car experience and enables new levels of seamless voice interaction. Still, the new IPA built on the ACA technology is capable of even more.

“The Alexa technology will enable an even more natural dialogue between the driver and the vehicle, so drivers can stay focused on the road. This will bring the digital experience to an entirely new level,” says Stephan Durach, senior vice president of the connected company and development technical operations at BMW Group.

Innovating BMW’s state-of-the-art in-vehicle voice experience with Alexa

The introduction of the first BMW IPA in 2018 marked the beginning of a voice-forward era at BMW. Voice interaction has since become an increasingly important part of BMW iDrive. And Alexa has been working side by side with the BMW IPA from the start.

“I think Alexa has raised the bar in terms of what it is for humans to interact with a machine. . . People are quite used to the way Alexa works as a leader in the market, and we want to capitalize on that experience. . . We want to learn with Amazon what is the best way we can do the BMW Intelligent Customer Assistant, but also bring in our own expertise,” says Licìnio Oliveira, head of engineering for intelligent in-vehicle experience at Critical Techworks, a joint venture of BMW Group.

This is precisely why BMW has decided to build its next-generation voice assistant on Alexa’s proven technology—a joint project, which arrived on the streets with the new X3 in July 2024. Through this collaboration, BMW can tap into the advanced capabilities of conversational AI and natural language processing that are offered by Amazon and powered by Alexa. This allows the BMW IPA to process more natural, conversational voice commands and queries and provide more intelligent and contextual responses. So BMW’s customers can now enjoy a holistic and fully connected intelligent environment. “Merging our vehicle expertise with Alexa makes it possible to turn your BMW into an ultimate companion and brings the best of both worlds together,” says Jörn Freyer (vice president development user experience at BMW Group) during IAA MOBILITY 2023.

Striving for an exceptional BMW voice experience: Inventing, scaling, and customizing

Building on Alexa’s continuously evolving capabilities, BMW can rapidly innovate, expand functionality, and deploy updates to provide a scalable, enhanced voice experience across its vehicle lineup. BMW's voice assistant built on the Alexa tech stack improves customers' experiences on the road by providing a broader scope of the assistant and more natural conversations. BMW can now create an even more personal voice interaction and user experience, that are specifically tailored to the needs and requirements of BMW customers such as specific car control dialogues to cater for BMW specific features. Customers can simply start a conversation by saying “Hey BMW, I am cold” and the assistant responds by increasing the cabin temperature or "I can't see through the windshield" leading to an activation of the defroster. BMW engineers feel like they made the right decision collaborating with Alexa: “We felt excitement to have finally chosen the right technology...and we are confident that Alexa could bring us the best experience and excitement for the future ahead.” says Licínio Oliveira (Head of Engineering for Intelligent In-Vehicle Experience at Critical Techworks, a Joint Venture of BMW Group).

Explore how BMW and Amazon are continuously improving voice experience by working backwards from the BMW customer:

Key advantages for BMW: Speed, innovation, and risk reduction

Building voice technology in-house can be costly and time-consuming. By adopting Alexa Custom Assistant, BMW was able to gain speed and mitigate investments while staying competitive in the rapidly evolving voice technology landscape. “I would say that Alexa is a key enabler of time to market. With the ACA technology, we no longer need to focus on plumbing. . . We’ll be able to build on top of that plumbing that Amazon already provides . . . being able to care more about building the experience. BMW wants to build in regard to the mobility context, where we are really experts. Focusing on that part of the solution is for us a very very important factor” says Licínio Oliveira (head of engineering for intelligent in-vehicle experience at Critical Techworks).

A look ahead: New enhancements to expect

What’s next for BMW and Amazon? Being customer obsessed is key to the collaborating, and Amazon and BMW continue to further evolve ACA using large language models (LLMs) to make the BMW IPA even more conversational and intelligent. LLMs can process contextual information, helping provide more relevant and coherent answers, better understand customer needs, and perform tasks more efficiently. And as voice AI continues to evolve, BMW remains committed to using these advancements to offer unparalleled customer experiences.

Listen to BMW’s Simon Euringer how LLMs might impact the automotive experience: 

Are you curious and want to learn more about the future of voice AI in vehicles? Contact our experts and start your own Amazon Smart Vehicles journey now: asvcontact@amazon.com