A little more than a year after Volkswagen Group deployed Cerence Inc.’s Chat Pro, an automotive-grade ChatGPT integration, in its vehicles, the companies announced an enhancement of the automaker’s in-car assistant, known as IDA, to enable faster, more natural conversations.
The improvements aim to make interactions feel “more like talking to a helpful, knowledgeable companion — one that is ready to answer questions, suggest ideas, help with navigation, and even share fun facts or tell a story to entertain children in the car,” according to a news release.
A Cerence spokesperson told Autobody News the new Chat Pro capability in Volkswagen vehicles will not affect any part of the repair process.
The spokesperson said data from conversational inputs are processed in the cloud to generate responses, but are not stored as long-term history, and will not be accessible by any repair shops, OpenAI or other third parties. Any local storage of conversational data is managed by Volkswagen, which ensures it remains protected and not exposed during repairs.
“In short, this update introduces no additional complexity for repairers, and customer privacy remains safeguarded by existing protections,” the spokesperson said.
This new, upgraded IDA experience – already available in most recent models across various Volkswagen Group brands and models, with rollout continuing throughout 2025 – now supports more complex, multi-turn conversations, powered by Cerence Chat Pro. That means drivers can follow up naturally without needing to repeat themselves or rephrase their request, making every interaction truly conversational and bringing greater ease and enjoyment to every journey. For example:
User: Can you tell me a fun fact about Berlin?
IDA: Berlin is home to Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the city’s most popular attractions.
User: Can you tell me a bit more about it?
IDA: Museum Island consists of the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the Pergamonmuseum.
User: What kind of art can I find at the second one?
IDA: The Neues Museum is known for its collection of Egyptian art, prehistoric objects and classical antiquities.
User: What’s the weather there going to be like today?
IDA: It’s sunny and about 18 degrees Celsius.
“This advanced user experience is a clear illustration of Cerence AI and Volkswagen Group’s shared commitment to making the in-car experience more personal, connected and intelligent — addressing real driver needs and delivering added value even after vehicle purchase,” said Christian Mentz, chief revenue officer of Cerence AI.
“Our goal at Volkswagen is to provide our customers with user-centric experiences that include smart, seamless technology,” said Kai Grünitz, member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management responsible for development. “By upgrading our in-car assistant in partnership with Cerence AI, we are delivering even more human-like conversations and a vastly expanded knowledge base, making every journey more enjoyable and connected — and delivering against our promise of continuously bringing added value and new capabilities to our drivers.”
