- Google has brought its Gemini AI assistant to Android Auto, enabling natural in-car voice interaction.
- Drivers can access Gemini through the car’s infotainment screen.
- Google confirms Gemini is not coming to Apple CarPlay.
Android Auto has a new co-pilot, and it talks a lot more like a human than the old one ever did.
Google has begun pushing its Gemini AI assistant into cars running Android Auto, promising smarter conversations, quicker tasks and fewer moments of fumbling with your phone while trying to merge.
A new voice riding shotgun
Gemini appears on the car’s infotainment screen once the companion app is installed on the driver’s Android phone. Activation is familiar territory: say “Hey Google”, tap the on-screen mic or long-press the steering-wheel voice button.
From there, Google says the system can finally manage proper back-and-forth dialogue: navigation queries, messaging, calendar checks, to-do lists and even digging useful details out of your inbox.
Guemmy Kim, Senior Director of Product & User Experience for Android for Cars, told users to expect a “truly conversational” helper, adding that “you can just speak naturally, have a back and forth conversation and get more complex tasks done.”
That includes asking it to find dinner spots by cuisine, send a friend your ETA with an emoji for flourish or hunt down that address hiding somewhere in last week’s emails.
Gemini can also stay chatty if you’re after a bit of rolling companionship. Google frames it as a tool that can “help you learn something new, brainstorm ideas, rehearse for important moments and much more.”
Not for CarPlay
If you’re running Apple CarPlay, this update won’t reach you.
Google spokesperson Sofia Giovannello confirmed there are “no updates to share” about Apple integration. Cars with native Android Automotive OS will get Gemini later, with Polestar already signalling it will adopt the system in a future software update.
Helpful helper or fresh distraction?
Voice control has long been sold as a safer bridge between tech and driving, though the science is still catching up. Early research points to only moderate cognitive load from in-car voice assistants, or better than staring at a handset, but not exactly risk-free.
With far more capable AI now entering the cabin, expect fresh debate on whether all this extra chatter sharpens focus or gently siphons it away.
For now, Android Auto drivers gain a sharper, chattier AI assistant riding shotgun, one that might make errands smoother, or at least make the morning commute feel slightly less lonely.
