Ford has an AI assistant and new hands-free BlueCruise tech on the way

Ford is processing an AI adjunct that volition debut successful the company’s smartphone app, earlier expanding to its vehicles successful 2027, the institution announced Wednesday astatine the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. The institution besides teased a next-generation of its BlueCruise precocious operator assistance strategy that is some cheaper to marque and much susceptible — yet starring to eyes-off driving successful 2028.

Wednesday’s announcement was 1 of the lone ones to travel from a large automaker astatine CES, marking a crisp turnaround from the precocious 2010s erstwhile they dominated the show. And it wasn’t made astatine a flashy keynote event; rather, Ford discussed the quality astatine a talker league called “Great Minds” that was meant to “explore the intersection of exertion and humanity.”

Ford says it integer adjunct is hosted by Google Cloud and volition beryllium built utilizing off-the-shelf LLMs, and the institution is giving it heavy entree to vehicle-specific information. That means the adjunct tin reply high-level questions similar “how galore bags of mulch tin my motortruck furniture support?” But it besides means owners volition beryllium capable to inquire for granular, real-time accusation similar lipid life.

The institution is rolling the adjunct retired to its newly-revamped Ford app successful aboriginal 2026. A native, in-vehicle integration volition travel successful 2027, though the institution wouldn’t specify which models it’s prioritizing.

Ford didn’t spell into large item astir what the in-car acquisition volition look like, but it’s not hard to ideate the possibilities erstwhile looking astatine immoderate of the much tech-forward automakers.

Just past month, Rivian showed disconnected its ain integer adjunct sending and receiving substance messages, handling analyzable navigation requests, and changing clime controls. Tesla has integrated Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok successful its vehicles, which customers person utilized to make on-the-spot sightseeing tours. Some of those capabilities whitethorn eclipse what Ford has successful mind, but the automaker besides has a afloat twelvemonth to hammer retired the in-car integration.

The caller BlueCruise strategy teased connected Wednesday is 30% cheaper to physique than the existent technology, according to Ford. It volition debut successful 2027 connected the archetypal EV to beryllium built connected the company’s low-cost “Universal Electric Vehicle” platform, which is expected to beryllium a mid-sized pickup.

Ford is promising much with this next-generation BlueCruise system, including eyes-off driving successful 2028. But it besides claims the strategy volition beryllium susceptible of handling “point-to-point autonomy,” akin to what Tesla offers with its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. Rivian has besides teased a point-to-point strategy coming aboriginal this year. All of these systems necessitate the drivers to beryllium acceptable to instrumentality power of the car astatine immoderate moment.