"Hey Rivian"—the adventurous EVs get a new AI onboard assistant – Ars Technica

The Rivian Assistant is available for both Gen1 and Gen2 hardware.
Rivian has quickly built a reputation as one of the auto industry’s leaders when it comes to vehicle software. Its clean-sheet approach to an electric vehicle’s electronic architecture earned it a $5 billion investment from Volkswagen Group, and its in-house infotainment system is beloved by owners despite no plans inside the company to support phone mirroring through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
In the absence of phone mirroring—and the way it lets you easily use Siri or Google Assistant hands-free while driving—Rivian has now added a new AI digital helper in its latest software update, compatible with both older Gen1 Rivians (model-year 2024 and older) as well as the more recent Gen2 models.
The Rivian Assistant rolled out in its latest software update, 2026.15, to all owners with a subscription or trial for Connect+, Rivian’s connectivity services. You activate it like most digital assistants, either with a button on the steering wheel, an icon on the infotainment display, or with a trigger phrase—in this case “Hey Rivian” or “OK, Rivian.”
Because the assistant runs within Rivian’s private cloud, it has a deep integration into the EV’s subsystems similar to BMW’s and Mercedes-Benz’s offerings, rather than the more pared-back abilities of the in-car AI assistant provided by Google to OEMs that use Android Automotive and Google Automotive Services. Rivian says that the AI can “control vehicle settings, climate control, navigation, media, messaging, and calling,” it can reference the owner’s manual, will reply to questions, search for information, and even explain in-car alerts and help you troubleshoot problems.
Rivian says you can also personalize the assistant via the Rivian mobile app, allowing it to connect to your calendar so it can access your schedule and to remember your preferences over time, including places you drive to regularly, like work or a school drop off, as well as things like music genres and favorite restaurants.
I foresee that the reaction to Rivian’s assistant won’t be entirely positive, given the amount of antipathy some have toward LLM-based technologies. A few might even go as far as to declare they’ll never purchase a Rivian as a result, no doubt. But asking your car by voice to reschedule a meeting or find a spot to eat lunch seems a heck of a lot safer than someone using their smartphone when they should have their hands and eyes on the road.
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