The Volkswagen We Connect ID. App allows drivers to query vehicle status with a convenient, mobile conversational voice interface that helps drivers find charging stations nearby, view the charging state and ask for the vehicle’s last parked location.

Volkswagen wanted to provide drivers with a voice interface that makes connecting with ID series EV Digital Services convenient and natural from anywhere. The Volkswagen We Connect ID. App makes it possible to access car-related information with a conversational experience powered by Voicify and delivered with Siri.

We Connect ID App. capabilities include:

• • Enquire about car charge status
  • Manage home charging
  • Unlock charging plug
  • Manage charging speed
  • Get information about systems
  • Map a route
  • Plan a route based on charge
  • Learn about environmental issues
  • See last parking location

Volkswagen also just announced a real-time “Find my car” feature for an upcoming release of We Connect ID.

Various conversations had to be designed, developed, and integrated with many proprietary vehicle experience management innovations to enable such a robust set of features. However, this complexity plays into two key strengths of the Voicify platform: First, Voicify is a breeze for non-technical users to use, and second, it is extremely easy to integrate with other systems.

Voicify puts conversational experience management on easy mode

The Voicify web-based visual editor allows Volkswagen to build, update, and deploy the We Connect ID. App voice user interface with a simple and recognizable experience management platform. Like a web content management system, this enables changes to the conversation model without impacting code, no disruption to development, and publishing changes to the conversation model in real-time.

Volkswagen has already done a fabulous job of creating and connecting Digital Services, including WeConnectID, WeRoute, WeCharge, and the Owner’s Manual, creating a seamless experience for vehicle operators. The Voicify webhook functionality allows for a single point of integration and extensible use of the data structure within each subsystem to enable a comprehensive, conversational interface to the entire vehicle.

Behind the scenes, the complete application also leverages custom integrations with Elasticsearch, Azure App Services, and Azure App Insights. The We Connect ID. App is also integrated with Siri so users can invoke the app that way if they like.

Coupling the Voicify conversational interface with variable webhook management, the Volkswagen team can establish and manage conversation structure with content variability, allowing for scale at tremendous efficiency.

“With Voicify, the ongoing development of Volkswagen’s We Connect ID. App voice interface is 10x faster than our previous approach. It’s never been easier to create and manage conversation flows.” Sanket Shinde, Voice AI Solutions Architect

Outcomes

The response from users in a live beta program has been overwhelmingly positive. Users are sharing positive feedback about the benefits of not needing to navigate through an app or interact with traditional controls to accomplish tasks with We Connect ID. App. They are also able to access Digital Services from anywhere through the native app.

The beta group is using the voice assistant on average twice a day. Voicify analytics are providing Volkswagen with deep information about when, how, and where users are engaging with their vehicles. So, the differences between a driver using the assistant in vehicle with Apple Car Play versus the native app elsewhere in the world is driving product informing decisions and information about their customer base previously unattainable.

Why Voicify?

For this application, Volkswagen needed a solution that separated management of the conversational interface from code, the ability to add multimedia elements to the experience, and wanted a platform that was simple to integrate and easy to use.

Another key design consideration for We Connect ID. is privacy, which drove the decision to build a custom application with Voicify instead of leveraging Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant for the core architecture.