Ford announced an AI assistant and next-generation BlueCruise advanced driver assistance system at CES 2026 on Wednesday, January 8. The AI assistant launches in the Ford mobile app in early 2026, with in-vehicle integration planned for 2027. The assistant runs on Google Cloud using off-the-shelf large language models with deep access to vehicle-specific data. Ford did not specify which 2027 vehicle models will receive the technology first.
The next-generation BlueCruise system debuts in 2027 vehicles and costs 30% less to produce than current hardware. The system enables hands-free highway driving on pre-approved routes and includes automatic lane changing capabilities. Ford plans to introduce eyes-off driving in 2028, advancing to Level 3 autonomous driving where drivers can remove visual attention from the road under certain conditions. The technology will debut on Ford's $30,000 electric vehicle platform launching in 2028. Current BlueCruise is available on Mustang Mach-E, F-150, F-150 Lightning, Expedition, and Explorer models. Subscription pricing ranges from $49.99 monthly to $2,495 one-time purchase. Over 1 million Ford vehicles globally feature BlueCruise, with drivers traveling 552 million miles using the system.
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