To make its autonomous vehicles more user-friendly, Waymo is taking a big step forward by adding an in-car AI assistant called the Waymo Ride Assistant. This innovative feature, still under development, aims to enhance passenger experience by providing a friendly and helpful companion throughout the ride. The Waymo Ride Assistant operates under an extensive internal document titled “Waymo Ride Assistant Meta-Prompt,” which contains over 1,200 lines of specifications detailing its functionalities and limitations.
The Waymo Ride Assistant is designed to be your friendly ride along AI buddy. Plus, it answers travelers’ burning questions and makes the trip a lot more fun. The assistant has many implicit goals, although not all deterred and defined as hers might be. It’ll assist you when you have commonsense knowledge questions, like the current weather, the forecast for the week, the height of national landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and what time specific local businesses are open, like Trader Joe’s.
Passengers can count on the Waymo Ride Assistant to provide real time sports scores! It offers upcoming schedules, news, and analysis, as well as a brief recap of the World Series—spoiler alert! The AI assistant interfaces with car functions, unlike the smart phone. Through this new user experience users are able to quickly modify the temperature level in the car, set their preferred interior lighting and pick the music for their journey.
The Waymo Ride Assistant now connected with Gemini, most recently married into Waymo’s tech stack. The public builds haven’t dropped this feature, so sources say it provides far more than a rudimentary chatbot. How we plan to achieve that The whole system is designed to use as little technical language and jargon as possible. Responses from the assistant are limited to 1-3 sentences to ensure succinct and focused answers are provided.
Julia Ilina, a Waymo spokesperson, said they’re excited at the opportunities this new feature could provide.
“While we have no details to share today, our team is always tinkering with features to make riding with Waymo delightful, seamless, and useful.” – Julia Ilina
The Waymo Ride Assistant is further informed by complex protocols designed to hold up a pleasant interaction with passengers. For instance, don’t start out with a defensive or apologetic stance over the driving system’s failures. Don’t succumb to the temptation of hedging your bets and softening your pitch.
Where the AI isn’t able to complete a request, the AI will respond with reassuring, informative messages like, “It’s just not something I can do yet.” This response beautifully illustrates its shortcomings all while maintaining an approachable user experience.
Developers have learned a lot, including through the development of the Waymo Ride Assistant. They want to make clear that its intentions are much bigger than simply informing the public. The ultimate aim is to have a unified and intuitive experience, one that improves the comfort and convenience of passengers as they move through their trip.
The incorporation of the Waymo Ride Assistant is a major leap in the development of autonomous vehicle technology. As part of that commitment, Waymo is focused on improving user experience. Through using their next generation AI intelligence, they want to revolutionize the way riders interact with their transit agency.