GM's OnStar AI Assistant: what it does at launch, the errands GM demoed, which cars get it first, and whether Gemini powers it

GM's OnStar AI Assistant, announced on October 21, 2026, at the company's GM Forward event in New York, is a voice assistant that answers to "Hey OnStar" and knows the car it's in. GM says it debuts on the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq "in the coming months" through an over-the-air update, with other GM vehicles to follow. GM's on-stage demos went further, showing a car that reschedules errands and texts family members, but those are concepts, not launch features. And it isn't settled whether Google's Gemini is underneath: GM executives call it proprietary, while a GM spokesperson told one newsletter that Gemini powers it.

This story is based on GM's two October 21 press releases, its April 28, 2026 Gemini announcement, the FTC's January 2026 order, and reporting by TechCrunch, Fast Company, InsideEVs and The Drive, plus the newsletter The AI Economy, checked October 23, 2026. Wired's story on the assistant couldn't be read for this report. For other assistants that act on your behalf, see our Claude Duet explainer.

The short version

• First car: the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq, by over-the-air update "in the coming months." A GM spokesperson told InsideEVs the 2027 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado come next.
• At launch: cabin controls by voice, vehicle status, feature and warning-light explanations, charging-stop planning, and a handoff to a human OnStar Advisor.
• Errands: demoed as future concepts. A GM design director said some of those features could arrive by 2029, per Fast Company.
• Price: none announced. InsideEVs reported it will be part of the OnStar subscription.
• Model: disputed. See below.

What will the OnStar AI Assistant do at launch?

GM's OnStar release lists these capabilities:

• Hands-free control of cabin functions such as temperature, dome lights, the glove box and the charge port.
• Real-time status for tire pressure, range and charging, and mapping charging stops for a trip.
• Model-specific explanations of features such as one-pedal driving and lane keep assist, and plain-language explanations of dashboard warning lights.
• A handoff to a live OnStar Advisor when a question needs a person.

InsideEVs reported that the assistant reacts to indirect requests, so "It's getting warm in here" lowers the cabin temperature. GM says support will expand to a new OnStar app, which starts in 2027 and replaces the OnStar Guardian app and the separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC apps.

Will it run errands?

Not at launch. The errand-running examples came from GM's presentation of where the system is headed. According to The Drive, one scenario had the car notice the owner would be late for soccer practice, check a partner's location and the grocery pickup schedule, reschedule the pickup and tell everyone. Fast Company described demos of checking and rescheduling family calendar appointments, texting a partner about school pickup, summarizing meeting notes and emailing them, and controlling smart-home devices such as a garage door. Fast Company reported that Emily Bowman, GM's director of vehicle interface design, said some of these features may arrive by 2029.

GM's own release says only that the assistant can complete "complex tasks that general-purpose assistants cannot," with charging-stop planning as its example. Compare that with assistants that already act on their own, such as OpenAI's always-on dots.

Is GM's OnStar AI Assistant powered by Google Gemini?

The reporting conflicts, and GM's releases don't settle it.

The accounts may not be contradictory. In October 2025, GM's software chief Dave Richardson described the plan to TechCrunch as taking an existing large language model and training it "on a specific domain," then running it in the car. A Gemini base tuned on GM's vehicle data would fit both descriptions, but GM hasn't said so. Apple's Siri raised a similar question, covered in our Gemini-powered Siri explainer.

How is this different from Gemini in GM cars?

They're separate products. On April 28, 2026, GM said it was replacing Google Assistant with Gemini in about 4 million US Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles from model year 2022 or later that have Google built-in. That update requires an OnStar connection, a Google Play Store sign-in, US English and opting in to Gemini. It handles texts, media, navigation and general questions. In the same release, GM said that "later this year, GM will deliver a more deeply integrated AI experience shaped by OnStar intelligence," which is the assistant announced on October 21.

What will it cost, and what about privacy?

GM published no price. InsideEVs reported that the assistant will be part of the OnStar subscription. GM says OnStar is 30 years old and has more than 12 million subscribers in 22 markets.

On privacy, GM says features turn on only if customers choose them and can be switched off at any time, and that owners can manage camera, microphone, location and AI permissions. A GM spokesperson told TechCrunch that third-party sharing is "feature-specific and consent-based." That carries weight because of GM's record: on January 14, 2026, the FTC finalized an order settling allegations that GM and OnStar collected and sold drivers' geolocation and driving data without consent. The order bars GM from sharing that data with consumer reporting agencies for five years and requires affirmative consent before collecting connected-vehicle data.

What's confirmed, reported and uncertain

• Confirmed (GM): the October 21 announcement, the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq as first vehicle, launch features, the 2027 app, OnStar's subscriber count, and the April 2026 Gemini rollout and its requirements.
• Confirmed (FTC): the January 14, 2026 order and its terms.
• Reported: Sierra and Silverado as next vehicles (InsideEVs); subscription inclusion (InsideEVs); the errand demos and 2029 horizon (The Drive, Fast Company); the conflicting model accounts, including the Gemini quote, which among the sources read appears only in a newsletter.
• Uncertain: the exact release date, price, which model or models run it, and which older GM vehicles will get it.