Automotive brand Ford has started rolling out its newest feature for drivers — artificial intelligence. It’s not a surprise. The company announced the feature at CES, detailing what it’ll do when it eventually does turn up. It seems that its AI has had (almost) enough time to bake.
Whether the finished product is worth the effort remains to be seen. Company president of integrated services Mike Aragon certainly seems to think so, but his post explaining the role of AI in Ford’s vehicles is a touch… enthusiastic. It makes sense for the company. The post seems to be a transcription of Aragon’s CES keynote, a stage where you have to sound excited or your stock price drops.
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The Ford AI assistant (which seems to be an official title) will roll out via an app update first. The company plans to integrate it into its vehicle dashboards before the end of 2027. In the meantime, drivers will get to use it without needing a firmware update. That’s probably by design, since it’s not clear just how useful the platform will be.
According to the company, its AI assistant will tell drivers what their fuel levels, remaining range, and vehicle specifications are. The version of the ‘bot someone uses will be tied to their specific vehicle, as opposed to a general database. These all sound handy enough, until you realise that the listed functions are replicated by a) the fuel indicator and range count or b) reading the vehicle manual and remembering what it says. Most of these details are/were listed on parts of the car and have been for decades.
One function that isn’t already inexpensively replicated is the ability to photograph a load and have Ford’s AI estimate how much of it (a pile of firewood is used as a suggestion) can be safely loaded onto the vehicle’s rear.
“Within seconds, the assistant analyzes the stack, estimates volume, and translates it into real terms — how many bundles, or what fraction of a cord — based on your Ford truck’s exact bed length and tie-down configuration,” says Aragon. The AI assistant will apparently replace ‘eyeballing’ how much weight your bakkie can take. Likely with about as much accuracy.
Still, this is Ford’s row to hoe. The rollout will happen this year, localised to eight million Ford and Lincoln drivers in the US. 2027 will see the AI chatbot hopping in the cabin with the driver instead of living on their phone.
