GM Turns OnStar Into an AI Assistant Drivers Can Talk to Every Day

Thirty years ago at the Chicago Auto Show, General Motors introduced OnStar, an optional in-vehicle service that paired a built-in cell phone and GPS satellite technology with round-the-clock access to a live advisor. GM sold it as peace of mind on the road, a way for drivers and their families to get help after a crash or directions when they were lost. At a time when most drivers didn’t carry a cell phone, the ability to reach a real person from anywhere felt novel.

Today, OnStar serves more than 12 million subscribers in 22 markets, and GM is rebuilding it around AI. On Wednesday, the company announced the new OnStar AI Assistant, a chatbot it wants drivers to talk to in their vehicles every time they get behind the wheel, rather than saving OnStar for emergencies. GM is betting that an assistant built around the car itself, with human advisors still on call when a question needs a person, can extend the peace of mind OnStar has offered for three decades.

‘Hey OnStar’

Not every vehicle question needs a human to answer, so GM built OnStar AI Assistant. The car maker said the chatbot is trained on the specific vehicle, the driver, and GM’s knowledge library, enabling it to provide personalized assistance and useful insights. Drivers simply start with “Hey OnStar” and give it a request, such as “It’s getting warm in here”—the cabin temperature adjusts to be cooler—or “Do I have enough charge to get to my destination?”—OnStar will check the vehicle’s range and provide a map of nearby charging stops.

Have you ever had a warning light appear on your dashboard and didn’t know what it meant? It might be hard to describe to someone. But GM claims drivers only need to ask OnStar, “What does that exclamation mark warning mean?” and the AI assistant will understand and return a clear explanation of what’s happening to the vehicle.

The OnStar AI Assistant gives drivers new ways to get help with their vehicle, even for questions they might feel are “dumb” to ask another human. The agent can also help with driver operations, such as opening the glove box or charging port, turning on the dome lights, or managing other vehicle functions using voice—all without needing the driver to fidget with a screen. However, when human intervention is needed, such as in cases where drivers don’t trust the prompt output or fear AI hallucinations, OnStar can still connect them to a live person for more support.

A GM spokesperson told The AI Economy that Google Gemini powers OnStar AI Assistant, extending a partnership that dates to 2019, when GM began building Google software into its vehicles. That said, the company also developed its own large language model. In April, the two companies started rolling out Gemini to about four million vehicles from model year 2022 and newer, replacing Google Assistant. And while Gemini will continue to be available on GM vehicles, the advantage OnStar AI Assistant has is that it’s going to be a specialized agent that knows about the automobile and the driver. And for everything else about the world, that’s where Gemini will be useful.

It’s a remarkable evolution for OnStar, as it shifts from a post-decision tool—you’ve been in an accident and need help, for example—to becoming a true operating system for the vehicle. In a sense, it’s poised to be just like how Amazon’s Alexa is for the smart home. For GM, this is a stepping stone to creating an autonomous driving experience where drivers and passengers can enjoy getting from one place to another, stress-free and more productive.

GM isn’t the only automaker putting a large language model behind the wheel. In 2024, Volkswagen integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT into IDA, its voice assistant, across many of its models. Last year, Stellantis expanded its partnership with Mistral AI to build an in-car assistant and other AI tools. As more automakers bring AI copilots into the cabin, GM is betting that three decades of OnStar service and vehicle data will set its assistant apart.

The next-generation native AI assistant will first arrive on the 2027 Cadillac LYRIQ via an over-the-air update. GM will add it to other vehicles in the future. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said the OnStar AI Assistant is included with a driver’s OnStar subscription

New OnStar Mobile App

Along with the AI assistant, GM plans to launch a new OnStar mobile app in 2027. It will replace the OnStar Guardian app and the separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC apps with a single app that works across the automaker’s vehicles and devices. This consolidation gives GM one place to reach its customers and lets OnStar follow drivers well beyond the car. 

The app’s most notable feature, Connected Cameras, turns a vehicle’s onboard cameras into something closer to a dashcam that reports back. When the system detects a trigger—for example, an aggressive horn honk—the cameras capture the activity, upload the footage to the app, and alert the owner. GM emphasized that customers decide what data is shared and that all recordings have time limits and are encrypted. This is notable, especially after the Federal Trade Commission banned the company and OnStar from sharing consumer data with consumer reporting agencies.

The app also introduces OnStar Family, which lets relatives share destinations, coordinate pickups, monitor other family vehicles, and receive safety and community alerts. GM didn’t say how many people could be included in this program. 

A third unnamed feature uses vehicle signals, weather, road conditions, and route information to send drivers timely safety alerts before and during a trip—think of it as your personal traffic and weather report.

While GM said that data captured by the OnStar AI Assistant and mobile app are secure and encrypted, one question that remains unanswered is if authorities will be able to access the data with a judicial warrant? In the event of an accident, could police, investigators, or federal regulators such as the National Transportation Safety Board request access to understand not only for any camera data, but download the context stored in the vehicle’s computer, possibly also retrieving context about the driver? And could that same information be used by insurance agencies to influence premiums?

Both the OnStar AI Assistant and the mobile app are part of a slate of announcements GM made at this year’s GM Forward event in New York City. In addition, the company shared a new vehicle development process it boasts reduces four- to five-year development timelines by half; released details on its fourth-generation electric vehicle platform; and shared how it’s using AI and machine learning technology to accelerate its autonomous vehicle efforts.

Disclosure: I attended GM Forward as a guest of the company, with travel and accommodation expenses covered. What I write reflects my own reporting and analysis, and no one reviewed or approved this post before publication.