On-Star Intelligence, Tesla’s LA Diner, Brand Beats Performance

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The shot clock is winding down on August as we talk about GM’s integration of Google AI. We also talk about Tesla’s charging diner concept, as well as Air B&B’s big shift from performance to brand marketing. 

• Yesterday, GM announced they are now using Google's AI technology to enhance its OnStar safety and connectivity service. This collaboration aims to improve voice recognition, provide turn-by-turn navigation, and enable conversational responses to consumers' questions.
  • Google Cloud's Dialogflow technology, the same technology powers chatbots on GM's corporate and vehicle brand websites, enabling conversational responses to consumer questions has been integrated into OnStar's Interactive Virtual Assistant, which provides turn-by-turn navigation and improves the ability to understand spoken requests.
  • This automation of nonemergency requests allows OnStar advisers to focus on issues that require human intervention.
  • "Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the buying, ownership and interaction experience inside the vehicle and beyond, enabling more opportunities to deliver new features and services," Mike Abbott, GM's executive vice president of software and services

• Tesla has received official city approval to build a Supercharger station in Los Angeles that will not only serve as a charging hub but also feature an old-school diner and a drive-in movie theater. 
  • The station, potentially named the Diner and Drive-In Movie Supercharger, will have 32 Supercharger stalls, a retro-style diner with roof-top seating, and two movie theater screens showing famous movie clips.
  • Initially presented last year in a Twitter post, the project was approved on July 18, and the initial grading inspection was completed earlier this month, allowing the project to proceed in West Hollywood.
• Air B&B CMO, Hiroki Asai, is parting ways with performance marketing and doubling down on brand. Shifting budgets to big, bold brand campaigns, focusing on the core of what Airbnb is about - core hosts, primary homes, and guests
  • The new strategy involved developing and highlighting specific features and tools that set its product and experience apart, such as Airbnb Categories, and communicating these differentiators through brand-first campaigns instead of performance-driven buys.
  • Airbnb's has what they call an “in-housing model”, where all product development, technology design, marketing, and advertising are done in-house, has been key to the success of the new approach, according to Asai. This model allows for a very tight system for all customer-facing things and helps run the company more efficiently.

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