Mercedes-Benz Integrates Microsoft Teams and Copilot into Vehicles, Raising Safety Concerns

Copilot is coming to cars -- and so are Teams calls

If Microsoft and Mercedes get their way, soon you'll be taking Teams calls while commuting. What's worse, being stuck in traffic or on another interminable Microsoft Teams call? ¿Por qué no los dos? Mercedes is teaming up with Microsoft to allow you to take Teams calls while on the go -- and is talking about adding Microsoft Copilot to its suite of luxury cars, too. Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz said Wednesday that the new Mercedes CLA will be able to tap into an in-vehicle camera and give drivers access to a Meetings for Teams application. Somehow, Mercedes is also including Microsoft Intune inside the car, so business workers will be able to access private business data, too. Mercedes is making this part of what it calls MBUX, the Mercedes-Benz user experience. Microsoft and Mercedes plan to implement the new Intune and Teams enhancements as part of an MBUX 4.0 upgrade this summer. The integration of Microsoft Teams, however, might be either the most useful or the most dystopian upgrade. Microsoft and Mercedes say that you can use the in-car camera for talking to partners or underlings, letting them see you as you cruise down the highway in comfort. Fortunately, the technology is being rolled out with an eye toward safety. "To minimize distraction and maximize safety while driving, the meeting video stream turns off automatically as soon as the camera is activated," the companies said. "As a result, the driver will never see any shared screens or slides -- and the camera can be turned off at any time." Mercedes is also integrating chat into its driver interface, so you'll be able to dictate chats to contacts, and view your upcoming calendar through a "Next Meetings" function. Microsoft and Mercedes are also working together to bring Copilot to vehicles, though the two aren't saying when. "Mercedes‑Benz and Microsoft are also working together to integrate Microsoft 365 Copilot into the latest vehicles," both companies said. "This will be one of the world's first application of its kind in a car and will help users prepare for upcoming meetings with the aid of advanced AI. Using voice prompts, drivers can summarize emails, retrieve or query client preferences and details, and manage daily tasks without distraction. Microsoft 365 Copilot has the potential to transform the vehicle into a third workspace, complementing the office and the home office." Microsoft has previously struggled to bring its services into the car, with Microsoft Sync powering the early versions of the Ford Sync entertainment and communications system. Since then Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay have provided alternatives to Ford's own entertainment systems. The 2025 CLA starts at $45,550 and goes up to $54,350, according to Car and Driver. To enable the new MBUX features, you'll need an Active Entertainment Package Plus subscription, which apparently varies by region and location.

Mercedes just put in a bid for the worst idea ever by enabling you to stream yourself driving during those vital Teams meetings

For some people, you can never flex enough when it comes to showing how hard you work. Happily, such corporate apparatchiks can now demonstrate their commitment to the cause while driving a new Mercedes-Benz car. The brand has just announced an update to its support for in-car Teams, enabling live video of you driving along to to be fed to your co-Teams attendees. For clarity, the reverse does not happen. If the car is moving, the feed from other Teams users is not displayed, with the in-car output then limited to audio. "With this update, drivers can use the in-car camera while driving, allowing other participants to see them during a meeting. Given the brand's focus on safety, the use of the camera abides by the laws of each country and has been approved for use on the move. "To minimise distraction and maximise safety while driving, the meeting video stream turns off automatically as soon as the camera is activated. As a result, the driver will never see any shared screens or slides - and the camera can be turned off at any time," Mercedes says. Mercedes itself says the driver won't be able to see other meeting attendees, and also claims the focus is on safety. So the assumption is presumably that the driver won't be engage visually with other attendees, look at the camera and so on. With all that in mind, it's hard to imagine what value this feature has other than opening up the possibility for minor-to-major unintended video exposition ranging from nasal exploration to live streaming an accident to work colleagues. The broader Mercedes Teams app probably is quite handy. According to Mercedes, the updated version, "has a function labelled 'Next Meetings' for upcoming appointments and enables quick access to frequent contacts. "There's also an expanded chat function that facilitates reading and writing messages. Integration of voice control for text input and the ability to jump directly from the calendar into a Teams meeting provide a seamless user experience." So, it's really just the video streaming of a person driving a car that is hard to parse. Anyway, as part of the update, Merc will also be the first car maker to add generative AI via Microsoft 365 Copilot. "This will be one of the world's first application of its kind in a car and will help users prepare for upcoming meetings with the aid of advanced AI. Using voice prompts, drivers can summarise emails, retrieve or query client preferences and details, and manage daily tasks without distraction," Mercedes says. And given the impeccable reliability and accuracy record of AI models, I can't possibly imagine what could go wrong in a car-driving context.