AI Assistant
Hey AI,
lock the car.
Ask your AI to lock, unlock, or find your car.
You're already talking to it. Your car can tag along.
Connect your car to your AI assistant with BetterKey's open-source Model Context Protocol server.
Try BetterKey free for 1 week.
Requires an active BetterKey subscription, an MCP-capable AI host, and Node.js 20+.
Already have BetterKey? Skip straight to setup.
Three things you'll actually ask
Everything the assistant does with your car, you asked for first.
"Lock the Subaru."
Already in the garage. Already in bed. Now you're wondering. Just ask. If it's locked, nothing changes. If it isn't, it will be.
"Where did I park?"
Airport lot at 11pm. Mall garage. Concert night. Ask the assistant and it pulls up the car's own reported location.
"Unlock the car, I'm at the door."
Hands full of groceries. Teenager needs their jacket. One sentence and you're in.
You stay in charge
The AI works because you gave it permission. You create a key in the BetterKey app on your phone, and that key lets it lock, unlock, and find your car. Nothing else.
It never sees your car company's login. It can't touch anyone else's car, and it can't change your BetterKey settings. Lock and unlock are marked as serious actions, so compatible assistants should ask you to confirm first. That prompt lives in the assistant, not in BetterKey.
The real safety gate is on our side: your key, your subscription, and the ownership check all run on every call.
Change your mind? Open BetterKey and revoke the key. The AI stops working the next time it tries. No cleanup, no catch.
How to set it up
Two steps, about ten minutes. You'll need Node.js 20 or newer installed on the computer running your MCP-compatible assistant.
1Make a key in BetterKey
Open the BetterKey app, go to Settings and tap API Keys. Create one and copy it right then. It only shows up once. Treat it like a password. Don't share it or commit it to version control.
2Connect your assistant
Open your assistant's MCP settings and add the configuration below. Replace bk_... with your API key, save, and restart the assistant if needed.
{
"mcpServers": {
"betterkey": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "betterkey-mcp"],
"env": { "BETTERKEY_API_KEY": "bk_..." }
}
}
}Your assistant may use a different settings screen or configuration format. See its documentation for how to add a local MCP server.
Common questions
Which AI tools support this today? +
Any host that speaks the Model Context Protocol can load the BetterKey bridge. Claude Desktop and Cursor work out of the box and are what we test against. ChatGPT's consumer app doesn't load local MCP servers through this setup, so it isn't supported.
Can the AI unlock my car without asking me? +
BetterKey marks lock and unlock as serious actions, and compatible assistants should ask you to confirm before running them. That prompt lives in the assistant, so the actual safety gate is on BetterKey's side: your key has to be valid, your subscription active, the car has to be yours, and only one command runs at a time.
Does the AI see my phone or where I am? +
No. The AI runs on your computer and only talks to BetterKey. Your phone, your current location, and your car company's login never come up. If you ask the AI to find the car, it pulls up the car's last reported location along with a timestamp so the assistant can tell how recent it is. We don't log where you parked.
Will it work the same with every car? +
No. What a car can do, and how quickly it reports back, depends on the brand and the car company's systems. The assistant can ask BetterKey what works for your specific car before it tries, so you'll know what to expect.
Does this cost extra? +
The AI piece itself is free and open source. You still need an active BetterKey subscription to run commands, same as the app. If your subscription lapses, the commands stop whether you're asking the AI or tapping in BetterKey.
What if I change my mind later? +
Open BetterKey, go to Settings, revoke the key. The AI stops working the next time it tries. Nothing to clean up on the assistant's side.
Try BetterKey free for 1 week.