Ford Wants To Eavesdrop On Your In-Vehicle Conversations To Personalize Ads, As Per A New Patent

With the advancement of technology, a wide range of products and services are being redesigned and modified to incorporate systems that increase efficiency in usage.

In the automotive industry, cars and other vehicles have consistently been updated to offer the latest in technology, be that in their engine or infotainment systems. This includes critical technologies such as GPS tracking or luxuries such as generative AI chatbots to answer questions.

Now, renowned automaker Ford is looking to use technology to personalize targeted ads for drivers and passengers while in vehicles. However, their method of delivering such customized ads is what’s come under scrutiny by the public, as it involves potential privacy breaches.

So, what is the company’s new technology about? Let’s explore!

What Is Ford’s New Patent About?

 

• As per a United States Patent Application Publication document, automaker Ford highlights a technology the company plans to use to deliver personalized in-vehicle advertising.

• Titled “In-Vehicle Advertisement Presentation Systems And Methods”, the technology will be carried out by monitoring and analyzing driver and passenger conversations to extrapolate context and keywords based on their journey route or destination.

• This will include considering several factors such as the vehicle's location, speed, road type and traffic conditions.

• The patent was filed on February 23, 2023 and was published on August 29, 2024.

• As such, the ads will be customized based on the vehicle's current conditions and predicted routes and will be delivered through audio or visual formats, depending on the conversation context.

• Furthermore, the system will integrate historical data and third-party app information to refine ad targeting, ensuring relevancy.

• Additionally, predictive algorithms will be used to determine the perfect time and format.

• While this patent and technology outlines obvious causes for concern revolving around privacy and security, the document fails to mention how the collected data would be protected.

• However, the system will consist mainly of software applications and will not require any new hardware.

• A previously filed and currently pending patent by the company that involved monitoring the speed of nearby cars, photographing them and sending the information to police, faced major backlash from privacy advocates.

• In another controversial patent that the company shut down after criticism, Ford planned to enable self-driving vehicles to repossess themselves by driving to repossession lots.

• This also included vehicle lenders to permanently lock cars or disable steering wheels, brakes and air conditioning until defaulters paid up.

What Did The Application Say?

 

• Excerpts from the patent filing read, “Advertisements can be presented to users in their vehicles through various means. For example, some advertisements can be presented visually and/or auditorily using an in-vehicle infotainment system or other similar human-machine interfaces (HMI).”

• [Contd.] “Advertisements can be presented through voice or audio systems in the vehicle. A user's preference for advertisements can also be influenced by driving conditions or other contexts.”

• “Advantageously, the systems and methods disclosed herein provide maximized or optimized opportunities for ads-based monetization.”

• “When the location of the vehicle corresponds to a commercial location, such as a store or shopping mall, these data can be used to select a type and/or number of ads to present.”

• “These systems and methods may use knowledge of vehicle destination prediction to provide more relevant advertisements, for example, if a user is going grocery shopping, merchandise purchasing, etc.”

What Did Ford Say About The Move?

 

• In a statement provided by Ford that defended the patent and the company’s stance on the technology, a spokesperson said, “Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property.”

• “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans.”

• In a follow-up statement, the company said it “will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”

What do you think about Ford's approach to in-car advertising? Do you think it’s a smart use of technology or an invasion of privacy? Let us know in the comments below!