Key Takeaways

• Mercedes-Benz unveils MBUX Bark Assist for dogs on April Fool’s Day
• While Bark Assist is a joke, Mercedes offers real MBUX Voice Assistant for humans with witty responses.
• Dog-friendly car options are available from lots of brands to ensure comfort and safety for furry passengers.

Mercedes-Benz has released a new feature called MBUX Bark Assist: a voice assistant for dogs, as the German carmaker showcases its funny side on April Fool’s Day.

Said to be available in the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Bark Assist intelligent voice assistant is linked to Mercedes Intelligent Cloud, meaning it can translate a dog’s barks and recognize what they want. At launch, the system will let dogs control the in-car audio, activate the Energizing Comfort climate programs, and access the shopping assistant (to buy treats and other items that they love). If only this were true.

“In the future, dogs will also be able to operate selected vehicle functions independently before the journey begins,” Mercedes says. Unfortunately, Mercedes says MBUX Bark Assist is only available on April 1, as a not so subtle hint that this is a gag. That being said, Honda did start selling dog accessories based on an April Fool’s joke, so never say never.

Real MBUX Features

MBUX Bark Assist may not be a real feature, but Mercedes does have an excellent voice command system that humans can use. The MBUX Voice Assistant can answer questions about sporting event results, the weather, controlling a smart home device, or even the meaning of life. You can also say, “Hey Mercedes: Tell me a joke.” We’ve heard some zingers in response, including “sorry, my engineers are German.”

Sometimes it will respond with an actual joke, such as, “Did you hear about the new restaurant in space? The food is good, but it has no atmosphere.” Alternatively, you can ask the system “what do you think of BMW?” It will give a cheeky answer like, “the same as you… otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Mercedes keeps improving the functionality, including the addition of ChatGPT to the Voice Assistant. Artificial intelligence will expand the number of available responses and make them more human-like.

Other Fun Dog Features

If you’re in the market for a dog-friendly car, there are several great options out there. Tesla vehicles have a “Dog Mode” that keeps the air conditioning on when you leave your pet in the car. Lucid recently copied this feature, as has Rivian. Subaru is well-known as a dog-friendly brand and Mini has tons of accessories that are perfect for dog parents. Even the aforementioned Mercedes E-Class is great for dogs, since it still offers a lifted wagon variant called the All-Terrain, which has plenty of room even for larger canines.