BMW has put its car configurator inside ChatGPT, and we're not sure it needed to
Configuring a BMW is now a conversation, whether you wanted that or not
BMW has become one of the first carmakers to plug its vehicle configurator straight into ChatGPT. The idea is that you describe your dream car in plain English and the AI suggests the right model, no menus required. It is a genuinely interesting experiment. It is also one that left us scratching our heads a little.
How it works
The concept is simple enough. Instead of scrolling through menus of engines and options, you tell the plugin what you are after in natural language, things like how much space you need, what sort of powertrain you want, how much ground clearance, or what you will use the car for. The plugin taps into BMW's configurator database and recommends suitable current models. You can then refine the suggestions, compare configurations, tweak colours, drivetrains and running costs, and finally open your choice in the full BMW Configurator or link it to available stock cars.
Where to find it
The plugin lives inside ChatGPT rather than on BMW's own site. On a computer, you head to chatgpt.com, open the Plugins menu and search for BMW. On mobile it is much the same, accessed via the Plugins option in the main menu once you are logged in. BMW frames it as a new digital channel for engaging with the brand, a response to the broader shift away from traditional search and website navigation towards conversational AI.
AutoNext Take
Full marks to BMW for experimenting, and there is a real trend underneath this: more and more people start their research by asking an AI rather than typing into a search bar, so meeting them there is forward-thinking. If the plugin genuinely helps a newcomer narrow 20-odd models down to the right one through a friendly chat, that is a nice bit of hand-holding.
But we cannot shake a simple thought: why not just use the configurator? It already exists, it is free, it shows you exactly what you are building in real time, and it does not require digging through a Plugins menu inside a third-party chatbot to reach it. Describing spec preferences in prose, then being bounced into the proper configurator anyway, feels like extra steps in search of a headline rather than a genuinely better way to buy a car. Clever technology, yes. Necessary? We are not convinced. If you know roughly what you want, our advice is simple: skip the chatbot and open the configurator.
