ChatGPT Now Available on Apple CarPlay With Voice Commands

Following the introduction of iOS 26.4 last week, AI companies have begun updating their apps to take advantage of a new CarPlay feature – the ability to use voice-based AI assistants while on the move. Apple announced the addition of this new category of apps earlier this year when the first beta version of iOS 26.4 was released to early testers. Only voice interaction is allowed, to reduce distractions, much like how video playback is restricted. 

iPhone users who have the ChatGPT app installed and have updated to iOS 26.4 will see the new icon on their CarPlay displays when connected. The app itself is fairly simple, with only a control to allow it to pick up voices, and an indicator when it is listening. The app has to be open for voice commands to be recognised; it cannot run in the background and monitor for a wake word.

Interestingly, AI apps in CarPlay do not replace Siri, and can’t be used to control car or phone functions, dictate and send messages, or for media playback. Users will however be able to ask detailed questions with follow-ups to get information from the Internet. While the app will allow previous chats to be stored, users cannot read through transcripts on their car’s screen. It also cannot show images as part of query results.

This means many car owners can have access to their car’s native voice assistant, their phone’s built-in functionality, and now third-party apps as well. This could be particularly helpful to owners of older cars. It’s likely that other AI apps including Google’s Gemini and Claude will debut on CarPlay soon

Apple’s embrace of third-party AI apps comes amid reports that it is struggling to launch its own next-gen Siri AI experience, which would enable deeper context, continuous conversations, and more personalised responses based on the content of users’ personal data and what they are seeing on their screens. With its own in-house efforts not bearing fruit, Apple has now pivoted to using Google’s Gemini models to power the new Siri, even as features promised for iOS 18 over a year ago have still not materialised.