Starting next year, some GM drivers will be able to have natural language conversations with their cars, thanks to Gemini.
The automaker announced on Wednesday that Google’s AI assistant is coming to its vehicles beginning in 2026. The partnership will function like an evolution of what GM already offers with Google Cloud, but with added functionality and more vehicle controls, a spokesperson says. This comes even as GM teases work on developing its own AI platform that it hopes will anticipate a driver’s needs, assist with route optimization, and build on in-vehicle safety service OnStar.
“We want it eventually to be more than just saying, ‘Hey, roll the windows up or down,’” says GM’s SVP of software and services engineering, Dave Richardson. “There’s a big opportunity around maintenance. We’ve talked about detecting drowsy drivers and helping on the safety aspect as well.”
GM officially announced the news at its GM Forward media event in New York City on Wednesday, alongside a series of other updates about advancements in autonomous driving, a new computing platform for GM vehicles, scaling robotics in GM factories, and new financing for its battery systems.
With autonomous driving, GM is preparing to level up its vehicles—literally—starting as soon as 2028. GM already offers Super Cruise, which is considered level 2 autonomy, meaning that drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel, but are responsible for the vehicle and must be ready to take over. Super Cruise is currently available on more than 600,000 miles of mapped roads across North America.
Starting in 2028 with the Cadillac Escalade IQ electric SUV, GM is aiming to introduce updates that will allow drivers to take their eyes off the road, unlocking a new tier of autonomy that Richardson calls Super Cruise 3.
“Where we’re going in 2028 with the Escalade IQ, is the ability to have that same experience [as Super Cruise], but you as the driver no longer have to keep your eyes on the road,” Richardson says. “You can be talking with people in the vehicle. You can be dozing off. I think the real appeal to people is that’s giving people tons of time back.”
Cadillac’s Escalade IQ will also be the first vehicle on which GM will debut its next generation electrical architecture, which is applicable for both internal combustion and electric vehicles. It plans to introduce so-called “software defined vehicles” in 2028.
“That’s really going to make it easy for us to do scalable, efficient software and deliver all the technology that we’re talking about here through the next years and beyond,” Richardson says.
GM also announced that it is deploying robots that are safe for human workers to be around, called cobots, into its factories, and announced that new leasing options will start in 2026 for the GM Energy Home system, which includes both bi-directional EV charging and a stationary home battery. All of these updates seem intended to position GM as a tech-heavy mobility company that leverages robotics and AI, rather than a simple automaker—much like Tesla considers itself a robotics company.
The updates come as the auto industry braces for a possible tumble in EV sales, following the Trump administration’s elimination of consumer EV credits. GM had previously been among the most bullish legacy automakers on EVs, at one point pledging to be all-electric by 2035.
“Despite slower EV industry growth, we believe the long-term future is profitable electric vehicle production. This continues to be our north star,” a GM spokesperson said in a statement. “We are guided by our customers and committed to offering them the choice and convenience they want — which means both EVs and gas-powered vehicles.”
GM announced in June that it would invest some $4 billion in three separate U.S. facilities to ramp up production of internal combustion engine vehicles even as it continues to push ahead with EVs, Politico reported.
Chloe Aiello
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