Mercedes shows off what it is like to truly talk to a car with Gemini
Mercedes-Benz and Google Cloud have demonstrated the Gemini AI model’s in-car capabilities within the MBUX Virtual Assistant. The functionality was showcased in an upcoming Mercedes CLA during a test drive, revealing details of their January partnership announcement.
The public demonstration was presented through a video featuring Mercedes’ Chief Software Officer, Magnus Östberg, and Google Cloud’s Head of Automotive, Steve Basra, driving the new CLA model at Google’s campus. This format was chosen over a standard press release. The video offered the first glimpse of how Gemini will be built directly into cars, expanding on a partnership first announced in January to integrate Gemini-powered conversational capabilities into the vehicle’s assistant. This in-car preview, which came after an earlier look at Gemini’s integration within Google Maps, provided the first concrete example of how the model will operate inside a production car.
The demonstration highlighted the upgraded MBUX Virtual Assistant’s ability to handle follow-up questions and engage in context-aware conversations without hands-on input from the driver. Östberg began by asking the car to navigate to an address, then followed up by requesting nearby coffee shops. After the system displayed a list of options and recommended one, Östberg further tested its contextual awareness by asking if that specific cafe served pastries. The assistant responded accurately by pulling details directly from Google Maps, a process that ensures both navigation and business information are precise. The source material described this seamless interaction as being similar to Gemini Live conversations available on phones.
Later in the drive, Basra tested the system with a more complex query, asking it to find an Italian restaurant and to check whether it had a good wine list. The Gemini-powered assistant handled the conversational task by offering to initiate a phone call to the restaurant, which would allow Basra to inquire about its wine selection directly. Although the video revealed only these specific interactions, it provided a functional sense of the in-car experience that Google had first detailed in its announcements a few months prior.
According to information released by Google, the Mercedes CLA is set to be the first production vehicle to feature this integrated Gemini technology. A launch for the vehicle is planned in the United States, with an arrival scheduled before the end of 2025. This timeline establishes the CLA as the initial platform for the conversational AI developed through the partnership with Google Cloud.
This initiative is part of a wider strategy for Gemini’s presence in the automotive sector. In a May announcement, Google had previously stated that Gemini would also be coming to the Android Auto platform and to vehicles that have Google built-in. At that time, the company specified a rollout “in the coming months” for Android Auto-supported vehicles. For cars with Google built-in, the provided timeline was “later this year,” and the announcement included mention of specific upcoming models such as the new Lincoln Nautilus, the Renault R5, and the Honda Passport.
The announced rollout for Android Auto and Google built-in has not yet materialized. A related development was observed in July, when the Android Auto interface began to quietly replace references to “Google Assistant.” This alteration is seen as a signal of Google’s ongoing, ecosystem-wide transition from its Assistant technology to the Gemini model. A definitive schedule for when Gemini will officially arrive on Android Auto or in cars with Google built-in has not been provided. The deployment on these platforms may follow the technology’s debut in the Mercedes CLA.