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

Ford is developing an AI assistant that will debut in the company’s smartphone app, before being expanded to its cars in 2027, the company announced Wednesday at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. The company has also teased the next generation of its BlueCruise driver assistance system which is cheaper to manufacture and more capable – which is expected to start operating in 2028.

Wednesday’s announcement was one of the few from a major car company at CES, marking a major shift from the late 2010s when it dominated the show. And it wasn’t made for a high-profile event; instead, Ford discussed the issue at a conference called “Great Minds” that was meant to “investigate technology and humanity.”

Ford says the digital assistant is powered by Google Cloud and will be built using external LLMs, and the company is offering access to vehicle information. This means that the agent can answer advanced questions like “how many bags of mulch will support my truck bed?” But it also means owners will be able to ask for more, real-time information like fuel economy.

The company provides its own agent Ford’s newly updated program at the beginning of 2026. Native, including in the car will come in 2027, although the company has not explained the models it prioritizes.

Ford hasn’t gone into detail about what the car will look like, but it’s not hard to imagine what it could be by looking at some of the automaker’s top models.

Last month, Rivian introduced its digital assistant to send and receive text messages, handle complex navigation requests, and improve weather control. Tesla has integrated Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok into its cars, which customers have used to make tours. Some of these features may overshadow what Ford is thinking, but the manufacturer also has a year to complete the integration of the car.

The new BlueCruise system teased Wednesday is 30% cheaper to manufacture than current technology, according to Ford. It will appear in 2027 on the first EV built on the low-cost “Universal Electric Vehicle” platform, which is expected to be mid-range.

Ford promises a lot with this next-generation BlueCruise system, including blind driving in 2028. But it also says that the system will be able to handle “the principle of autonomy,” similar to what Tesla offers with its Full Self-Driving program (Supervisor). Rivian has also mocked the point system coming later this year. Both systems require drivers to be in control of the vehicle at all times.