Connected Car App: Extending the mobility experience beyond the road

In today’s connected world, customers expect seamless digital experiences across all devices — from smartphone to vehicle. To meet these expectations, Audi is enhancing its digital ecosystem with a comprehensive relaunch of the myAudi app. Featuring a clean, modern design across all touchpoints and smart features like an LLM-based chatbot, access to the ecosystem will be easier and more intuitive than ever.

A car expert on the go

Whether you’ve been driving your car for a while or just picked it up from the dealership, vehicle-related questions can always come up. Thanks to a new chatbot feature, Audi drivers can now turn to the myAudi app for quick answers about various vehicle features instead of navigating through the car manual – making support more accessible than ever.

The chatbot uses the latest AI technology, integrating the Car Manual LLM co-developed by CARIAD and Audi. “The integration of a Large Language Model enables natural and contextual interactions”, explains Mark Pleschka, Product Manager Non-Vehicle Touchpoint Digital Assistant at CARIAD. The smart feature uses the car manual as a knowledge base to search for information about questions such as “How much weight can I load on my roof?” or “I need help setting up the tyre pressure”.

Instead of navigating through the manual, users can retrieve relevant content instantly via natural language queries. This means: They can simply type or speak in their questions and will get the answer instantly. The chatbot leverages contextual data such as vehicle model and car manual part numbers. For example, a question about roof load would always be answered with the specific roof load allowed for the vehicle linked to the myAudi app.

“The myAudi app also displays images and symbols from the manual to help users with their queries, for example, if a user asks how to open the trunk handsfree. The answers of the chatbot are tailored to provide users with the best experience depending on their current situation. In an in-vehicle use case, answers would have to be shorter, for example, and users would need to be able to understand them without the help of visuals”, explains Mark.

Seamless navigation experience

In the relaunched myAudi App, users also benefit from an improved route planner, giving them access to their charging station data and enabling them to plan charging stops from home, which makes planning a journey more convenient.

The route calculation uses CARIAD’s in-house developed backend service, which leverages the same routing engine as the vehicle to ensure smooth synchronization of routes between mobile device and vehicle.

Unlocking convenience

In addition, the myAudi app offers access to numerous popular features, such as the Digital Key. This allows users to lock and unlock their car and even start it. The physical car key can simply be left at home, instead the Digital Key takes over in the myAudi app on the smartphone or, if desired, on the smartwatch.

Using a combination of advanced ultra-wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology, the Digital Key facilitates interaction between the vehicle and the smart device. When the vehicle detects the presence of an authorized phone, users can lock and unlock their vehicle as well as open the trunk without carrying a physical key or even taking their phone out of their pockets.

*Availability of functions depends on model and region.