Apple May Finally Open CarPlay To AI Assistants Beyond Siri

Apple appears ready to loosen its grip on one of CarPlay’s most tightly controlled features. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is preparing to allow third-party AI voice assistants to operate within CarPlay, opening the door for services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.

If implemented, this would mark a significant shift for Apple. Since its launch, CarPlay has relied exclusively on Siri for all voice-based interactions, including navigation, music control, and messaging. The upcoming update would be the first time Apple allows external voice assistants to function inside the in-car interface.

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Rather than replacing Siri, the change is expected to work alongside it. Siri will still continue to be there as the default assistant, retaining its dedicated button and wake phrase. To access AI chatbots, drivers would need to launch the respective app within CarPlay, after which developers can enable voice-first interactions for hands-free use.

This approach allows Apple to expand functionality without giving up control over the overall CarPlay experience. By keeping Siri at the centre while offering optional AI tools, Apple can meet growing user demand without fully opening the platform.

That demand has been building for some time. Many drivers have been looking for smarter conversational tools than Siri currently offers, often resorting to indirect solutions such as iPhone widgets mirrored onto CarPlay. Direct integration of AI chatbots would make tasks like finding nearby restaurants, answering questions, or summarising information far more seamless while driving.

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At the same time, Apple is working on strengthening Siri itself. The company is reportedly developing “World Knowledge Answers”, a feature designed to give Siri web search and summarisation abilities closer to what AI chatbots already provide. CarPlay was last refreshed with widgets and a new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, while CarPlay Ultra is gradually rolling out with deeper vehicle controls like climate and seat adjustments.

Apple has not officially commented on the report, but if the changes arrive as expected, CarPlay could soon become one of the most AI-flexible in-car platforms yet.