The BMW four-cylinder, which shines in blue lights, conveys a futuristic and elegant cityscape.

Artificial Intelligence at the BMW Group.

At the BMW Group we leverage the power of AI to shape the future of mobility. Because for us, AI is more than just a technological innovation: it’s fundamental to our digital transformation and a key driver of efficiency, quality and the customer experience. Thanks to our Group-wide AI platform, we can work with custom solutions ranging from the intelligent optimisation of processes in production to generative AI in customer communications and AI-supported simulations in vehicle development.

By combining our own innovative solutions with those of external AI creators, we generate added value for our customers, employees and our company. Our strategy of openness to different technologies will keep us independent of specific language model providers.

Our GenAI self-service platform offers BMW Group employees easy access to AI and sets the basis for developing and scaling AI applications across every area of the company. The BMW Group AI Assistant enables even non-technically-minded users to develop their own AI solutions and integrate them into their work processes. This noticeably boosts efficiency and productivity, while an integrated governance framework ensures all AI applications are used securely and in line with regulations.

We’re scaling artificial intelligence along the value chain, from development and production through to sales. In the foreseeable future, every process at the BMW Group will be AI-supported. We already have hundreds of use cases in series production today. The key drivers behind it all are efficiency, innovation and a clear focus on return on investment.

Marco Görgmaier

Vice President Enterprise Platforms and Services, Data, Artificial Intelligence, BMW Group

Artificial Intelligence in Development.

We invest in AI tools to improve our engineering processes, for instance for the analysis of specifications documentation and for technical standards and regulations. Our aim is to enhance the efficiency and precision of our development work.

In product development we use AI for technical tasks that involve extensive simulations: crash testing, aerodynamics and autonomous driving, for example. That way, we can become less dependent on physical prototypes and faster in terms of development cycles.

The new automated driving system from BMW is revolutionising mobility and setting new standards in automotive technology.

Artificial Intelligence in Purchasing.

The Tender Assistant supports procurement teams and their departments in creating high-quality tender documents. It assists with selecting the right templates and generating free-text content. By leveraging trained sample cases, it incorporates the latest templates and proven best practices from previous tenders. This ensures adherence to quality standards throughout the tendering process.

The Offer Analyst streamlines the analysis and comparison of tender documents. It enables interactive engagement with the documents, allowing users to quickly review legal aspects and key criteria. This helps determine whether suppliers meet the specific requirements of the relevant department, providing a solid foundation for well-informed purchasing decisions.

These and other AI-driven tools are integrated into a multi-agent AI application that offers employees a centralized, user-friendly entry point into the world of AI through a unified chat interface. With natural language processing and intelligent search algorithms, users can efficiently research suppliers, market trends, and internal knowledge–enabling data-driven decision-making.

Artificial Intelligence in Production.

A robot positions itself in front of a machine, ready to interact.

In production the advantages of AI support the ongoing transformation of our plants into networked, digital facilities – the BMW iFACTORY.

AIQX is our AI quality platform for constant monitoring of our production lines. Real-time analyses of sensor and image data allow faults to be detected and eliminated immediately, enhancing overall product quality and reducing the number of defects.

We are also conducting research into the use of humanoid robots for autonomously performing complex assembly tasks, and smart transport systems to optimise logistics even further.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales and Customer Experience.

BMW and MINI use an AI-based assistant to respond to customers’ queries 24/7. The chatbot is available via the website and apps and answers queries around products, services and vehicle-related issues with verified information from a knowledge database.

In the future it will be rolled out in further markets as a complement to personal customer service, with new features gradually being added.

BMW Connect image showing the user interface and functions of the BMW Connect app.

BMW Group Digital Identity: Five guiding principles for dealing with digital technology.

Digitalisation is a key factor in the current transformation of the automotive industry – and its influence on business processes, product features, services and business models only continues to grow. In order to actively shape this development, the BMW Group has defined its expectations for the responsible use of digital technology in all these areas and made its position on this subject binding.

This digital identity is encapsulated in the company’s five guiding principles for the use of modern information and communications technology. With these guidelines, the BMW Group puts people at the heart of digital innovations, sets high standards for safety of use and cybersecurity and pledges to achieve broad participation within the company. Transparency and protection of privacy are further prerequisites for customers, employees and the public to be able to place their trust in existing and future BMW Group processes, products and services. This approach thus aligns the digital identity with the company’s overarching objectives.

The BMW Group Digital Identity (pdf, 31 kB)