You can now start your Mercedes car via Alexa or Google Assistant

It’s official. Voice assistants are everywhere.

They’re in our phones, speakers, washing machines, and now, cars. Mercedes-Benz has announced that both Alexa and Google Assistant will work on all of its 2016 and 2017 models released in the US. Apart from a compatible car, you will need an active Mercedes Me account and a subscription to mbrace, Mercedes’ smartphone platform in the US that costs $199 a year after a six-month free trial.

• Google Home review: Better than Amazon Echo?
• What is Google Assistant and how does it work?
• 7 best Google Home compatible devices you can buy today

So, starting 21 April, owners of newer Mercedes can command their Google Home or Amazon Echo to remotely start or lock their vehicles. They can also send addresses to their in-car nav system. In its announcement, Mercedes explained how the integration works:

“Customers with Google devices can simply say, ‘Ok, Google, tell Mercedes me to start my car,’ and it will remotely start the customer’s car. Another available feature includes remote lock. With Alexa devices, customers can say, ‘Alexa, ask Mercedes me to send an address to the car’ for remote navigation input and point-of-interest requests.”

And here’s a promo video that shows the integration in action:

Mercedes first revealed that in December 2016 that it would soon support Google Assistant on Google Home. The company has also said that Europe will get these same features in the near future.