Rivian began rolling out its AI-powered voice assistant to compatible vehicle owners on May 12, 2026, making the feature available via a software update to Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicle owners enrolled in the company’s Connect Plus cellular plan or an active trial.
Connect Plus costs $15 per month or $150 per year. Owners who meet either condition will receive the update automatically.
Called the Rivian Assistant, the feature was first announced at the company’s AI and Autonomy Day last year. It is built on Rivian’s Unified Intelligence platform, described by the company as a “shared, multi-modal AI foundation” integrated across its operations. Rivian designed the assistant in-house but says it is augmented by third-party models for natural conversation, reasoning, and grounded data.
The assistant can be activated by pressing the scroll wheel on the steering wheel or by saying “Hey Rivian.” It connects directly to vehicle hardware, enabling voice control of functions including HVAC, drive mode selection, and battery preconditioning. It also integrates with third-party apps — such as Google Calendar, Spotify, and Apple Music — once owners connect those services separately. Through these integrations, drivers can reschedule calendar events, send text messages, search message history, and ask about weather or news.
Rivian provided additional usage examples, including asking whether a river is shallow enough to ford, displaying the truck bed camera, and combining travel distance queries with sunset timing. The assistant also responds to natural language: saying you “need to get cleaned up on the way home,” for instance, prompts it to locate a nearby car wash.
Rivian does not support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, a deliberate choice the company says allows its assistant to integrate more deeply with vehicle systems. Its R1, R2, and R3 vehicles run on Android Automotive’s operating system.
Source: The Verge