Ford is trying to cut costs and maintain control by bringing in new tools of its own. Ford ’s new voice assistant , powered by artificial intelligence (AI), will be available to customers later this year, according to an announcement at CES. In 2028, Ford will introduce a feature autonomous driving Level 3 (hands-free, eyes-off) as part of its Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, which will be launched in 2027.
Ford plans to develop much of the core technology for these products in-houseto reduce costs and maintain greater control. However, the company is not creating its own large language models or designing its own silicon, as Tesla and Rivian do. Instead, Ford will build its own electronics and computing modules that are smaller and more efficient than current systems.
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“By designing our own software and hardware in-house, we’ve found a way to make this technology more accessible,” said Doug Field, Ford’s chief electric vehicle and software officer. “This means we can integrate advanced hands-free driving into the vehicles people buy, not just the ones with unaffordable prices.”
The announcement comes as Ford faces pressure to release more affordable electric vehicles after electric versions of the Mustang and F-150 pickup truck to excite customers or generate profits. The company recently canceled the F-150 Lightning amid falling electric vehicle sales. It plans to produce more hybrid vehicles and battery storage systems to meet growing demand from building AI data centers.
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Ford is also redefining strategy artificial intelligence after the closure of its autonomous vehicle program with Argo AI in 2022. It is shifting focus from fully autonomous Level 4 vehicles to Level 2 and Level 3 driver assistance features.
Ford: AI integration
Ford is trying to find a balance in its approach to artificial intelligence while continuing to invest in AI-powered products like voice assistants and autonomous driving features. The voice assistant will roll out to Ford and Lincoln mobile apps in 2026 and will be exposed to the in-car experience in 2027.
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At a recent tech conference, Ford CFO Sherry Housesaid that Ford will integrate Google's Gemini into its vehicles. However, the automaker is designing its assistant to be independent of chatbots and to work with a variety of major language models.
