General Motors is building a voice assistant into its cars. In its OnStar AI announcement, GM said drivers will wake it with "Hey OnStar" and use it to run the cabin and ask about the vehicle.
What the assistant does
By voice, it controls cabin temperature, dome lights, the glove box and the charge port. It also answers questions about range, warning lights, tire pressure and charging status, and can map charging stops.
It explains model-specific features too, such as one-pedal driving and lane keep assist. When a question needs a person, it hands off to a live OnStar Advisor.
GM describes the assistant as "built around your vehicle, your context, and authoritative GM knowledge" and claims it completes tasks general-purpose assistants cannot. That comparison is GM's own.
When it arrives
The assistant debuts on the 2027 Cadillac LYRIQ "in the coming months" by over-the-air update, and GM plans more vehicles after that. It is also due in the new OnStar app "soon".
That app starts in 2027 and replaces OnStar Guardian plus the separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC apps. GM lists Connected Cameras, OnStar Family and proactive safety alerts for weather, road and route conditions.
Connected Cameras can record automatically when a trigger such as an "aggressive horn honk" occurs, then upload the clip and alert you. GM says the feature is opt-in and can be switched off any time. Recordings are time-limited and encrypted, and GM states it cannot access them.
Fleets get their own version: an OnStar Fleet Intelligence platform with a Fleet AI Assistant that answers plain-language questions on vehicle health, maintenance, fuel and energy. OnStar turns 30 this year, with more than 12 million subscribers in 22 markets, GM reports.
The bigger software plan
In GM Forward, the company aims to halve its "four-to-five-year" development timeline using enterprise AI and virtualization. A new Central Compute Unit offers 40 times more compute by GM's own comparison, with 30% less wiring length and mass. It debuts in 2028 on the Cadillac ESCALADE IQ, then spreads to full-size SUVs, trucks and three-row crossovers.
On autonomy, GM's update keeps its next step in highway autonomy on track for 2028 on the ESCALADE IQ. Pre-production vehicles are tested on closed courses. GM names gas full-size SUVs and light-duty pickups next but gives no dates. GM says Super Cruise has logged 1.2 billion hands-free miles.
For another approach to driverless service, see Waymo's Las Vegas airport pickups.
Fourth-generation EVs
GM's EV platform announcement centers on an LMR battery that GM calls the world's first production LMR battery, to be made by Ultium Cells in Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM claims 33% more energy density than LFP at a comparable price, and about 20% more range per kWh once battery, drive units and aerodynamics are combined.
GM gave no launch date, models or prices for these EVs. Concept Horizon is a vision of the cabin only.
In our view, the assistant is the part owners will actually touch first. How well it handles real questions in the car will decide whether it sticks. Others are moving the same way, as Gemini Personal Intelligence on Android Auto shows.
