In February, we learned that Apple plans to integrate AI assistants into CarPlay. The news came with the first beta for iOS 26.4, although Apple didn’t actually include a way for testers to try out the integration into the software. Instead, the company confirmed the news in its CarPlay Developers GuideStating that “CarPlay Voice-Based Conversational App” support will require at least iOS 26.4.
Well, Apple launched iOS 26.4 last week, and while the update delivered a number of new features, none of them was AI chatbot integration with CarPlay. The company also released the first beta for iOS 26.5 without mentioning the upcoming feature. I admit the thought of using ChatGPIT, Cloud, or Gemini with CarPlay completely left my mind, replaced by thoughts of when Apple’s big AI Siri upgrade will actually launch. But OpenAI did not forget about it.
ChatGPT now available in CarPlay
In a surprise move, OpenAI is now introducing ChatGPT support in CarPlay. The company announced the news In Thursday’s post on XWith the following tagline: “The voice mode you know is now available on the go.” OpenAI confirmed in the post that the feature works with iPhones running the latest version of iOS (iOS 26.4) – and of course in cars that support CarPlay.
I have a car with CarPlay, so I had to try out this feature. My iPhone is already running iOS 26.4, so this wasn’t an issue, but I needed to update the ChatGPT app to its latest version. Before doing this, I couldn’t see the app in CarPlay. After the update, ChatGPT appeared on the last app page in my CarPlay window.
I tried it, and it works just as you’d expect: When you launch ChatGPT in CarPlay, it opens straight into voice mode. (After all, you’re driving.) There are only two buttons on the screen: “End”, which ends the session, or “Mute”, which mutes the session, presumably so you can talk to other people in the car without hearing ChatGPT (or cursing out other drivers?).
After launching the app, you can simply talk to ChatGPT, and he or she can respond. It’s actually a driving-friendly version of the familiar Voice Mode.
CarPlay doesn’t stop ChatGPT from hallucinating
I don’t really have any more conclusions other than this: In my very short time testing the feature, the AI started hallucinating almost immediately. I asked if it knew what I was doing, and it said it didn’t. When I pressed him on what I thought he would be able to guess given the context, he admitted that he knew I was using CarPlay, so I was probably driving. I asked how long this feature has been around, and she mistakenly thought I was asking about CarPlay, so she said 2014. When I corrected it, and asked how long since ChatGPT integration had been a feature in CarPlay, it said late 2023.
What do you think so far?
“Late 2023?” I asked “Yeah exactly!” Chatgpt replied. “So it’s still fairly new, but it’s been expanding quite a bit since then, especially with updates from OpenAI and Apple. So, yes, you’re right at the beginning of that wave!” I asked if he knew what year it was. Chatgpt acknowledged that it was 2026, meaning “it’s been a few years since that initial rollout,” and thanked me for pointing it out.
“Okay,” I said. “But I was under the impression that this feature was brand new, like it literally just came out today.” This is the first time in this conversation that Chatgpt had to “think”, signaled by a subtle tune playing in the background. When it got back to me, it confirmed the feature launched with iOS 26.4. “This is the first time that third-party chat apps like ChatGPT have been available in CarPlay, so that’s pretty new!” When I asked why it originally said 2023, he said it was a mistake. When I pressed him to tell me from what source he was getting this information, he said that he “must have remembered the previous timeline by chance.”
This is not a new problem. All generative AI, not just ChatGPT, hallucinate and this is to be expected when using the technology. But I can’t help but think that CarPlay only makes the problem worse: You can’t easily fact-check the AI when you’re on the road; All you can do is ask to fact-check it. Sure, it can correct the mistake, as it did when I challenged it, but it can also hallucinate the correction. If you rely on this tool to answer your questions while on the road, you may find some incorrect information that you file as true.
Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.
