GM's OnStar Go Partners With IBM's Watson For In-Car Marketing
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General Motors and IBM have announced a new technical partnership that will place the computer giant's Watson software to develop the auto industry's first cognitive mobility program. GM's OnStar Go program will use Watson's cognitive mobility platform and artificial intelligence capabilities to provide personalized marking offers to millions of drivers beginning early next year.
Watson will utilize the vehicle's dashboard display to offer deals on a variety of products or to offer helpful advice about how to avoid traffic. In some instances, you won't even have to leave the vicinity of your vehicle. For example, Watson would be able to warn a driver they are low on fuel, turn on a gas pump, and enable the driver to pay for their gas right from their dashboard. Consumers would also be able to do things like order their morning coffee before they even get to the counter at their favorite coffee shop.
ExxonMobil has already said that they will use the technology to help drivers locate the nearest gas station and authorize payments from inside their car. MasterCard will allow consumers to make payments through credit and debit cards stored in Masterpass, which is already embedded in OnStar Go. Other initial brand partners include iHeartRadio, Glympse, and Parkopedia.
"On average, people in the U.S. spend more than 46 minutes per day in their car and are looking for ways to optimize their time," said Phil Abram, executive director of GM Connected Products and Strategy. "By leveraging OnStar’s connectivity and combining it with the power of Watson, we’re looking to provide safer, simpler and better solutions to make our customers’ mobility experience more valuable and productive."
Watson will be able to learn a driver's preferences, if the driver consents, which will enable IBM and OnStar to tailor location-based deals into vehicles. By the end of 2017, the system is expected to be in 2 million vehicles in the United States that feature 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspots.
