A Closer Look At General Motors’ Cognitive Mobility Platform
In October last year, General Motors (NYSE:GM) announced a partnership with IBM to create OnStar Go, the auto industry’s first cognitive mobility platform. This platform, which will be launched early this year, will give GM drivers the ability to connect and interact with their favorite brands while driving. Experiences such as avoiding traffic when low on fuel, activating a fuel pump and paying from the dashboard, ordering a cup of coffee on the go and receiving in-house personal entertainment will all be available through this platform. Brands such as Mastercard, ExxonMobil, Parkopedia and Glympse are the first ones to join this platform. This initiative is an indication that GM is keen on exploring technology to provide drivers with a personalized, efficient and safe driving experience. As the company partners with brands to personalize this platform for its customers, it can open another revenue stream for the company while offering marketing opportunities to the associated brands.
Efficient Use Of Time Spent In The Car
According to a study conducted by IBM, the automotive industry will offer a greater personalized driving experience by 2025. Of the executives surveyed by IBM, 80% felt that in-vehicle cognitive technologies will be a key component of how vehicles learn to provide a better experience for the occupants and optimize their own performance. On an average, people in the U.S spend 46 minutes in their car per day and GM is looking at ways to optimize this time spent through OnStar Go. The platform can also learn driver’s preferences, apply machine learning and sift through data to recognize patterns in their decisions and habits. This information can create several marketing opportunities for GM’s brand partners in this platform. Brands can deliver personalized and location-based marketing messages to the consumers. The Personality Insights and Conversation APIs in the platform can remind a working father to pick up diapers from a pharmacy near his exit. Similarly the Retrieve and Rank feature lets the driver know that his order is ready for pick up at a nearby retail store and one of the store’s employees will load their purchase in the car. The goal of this platform is to convert the “time wasted” in the car into “time well spent”. In the long term the company plans to develop categories of partners in media, entertainment, dining, travel, fast food and retail to provide more consumer conveniences.
Technology is disrupting the automotive industry and changing its landscape. While electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and ride sharing are being touted as the future of this industry, these vehicles currently form a small portion of the total automotive vehicles. In this environment, improving the existing driving experience and making it more personalized and convenient can lead to customer delight and create a competitive edge for auto manufacturers. Through its cognitive mobility platform, GM is trying to achieve this edge. Furthermore, we believe this initiative can open an additional source of revenue for General Motors in terms of providing a platform to brands to promote their products.
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