General Motors will bring Gemini to over 4 million existing vehicles later this year.
The AI chatbot will be added to the infotainment systems of 2022 and newer Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC vehicles with Google built-in. Customers will receive a notification when their car is ready for the update, which is expected to be completed over the next several months.
To start using Gemini in GM vehicles, you need to have an OnStar subscription, sign in to the Google Play Store, set US English as your default language, and opt in for Gemini.
With the upgrade, Gemini will replace the Google Assistant on eligible GM vehicles and allow drivers to have back-and-forth conversations with the AI about anything under the sun. They can also get a few things done on their phone.
Drivers can say “Hey Google” to invoke Gemini and ask it to read their messages, or draft, edit, and send a text response with emoji. They can also ask it to create playlists, find the nearest post office/gas station/charging station, plan a route with a few stops, and more. Each conversation will take place in a single thread, and drivers can also ask follow-up questions.
GM previously announced plans to phase out Android Auto and Apple CarPlay from all of its cars by 2028. The reasons for the decision have varied, from not wanting a system that’s “dependent on [a] person having a cellphone” to driver distraction. The Gemini integration, first teased last year, doesn’t seem to address either concern.
Gemini will first be rolling out to GM cars in the US. It’s “one of the largest deployments of Gemini in the industry,” the company said, adding that the feature will be made available in additional markets and more languages in the future.
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