Gemini moves behind the wheel: Google Maps on CarPlay learns to talk

© A. Krivonosov

Google is steadily pushing Gemini into the places where drivers already rely on navigation. Strings found in a recent Google Maps update point to an upcoming integration of the AI assistant into the Apple CarPlay version of the app.

Gemini already worked inside Google Maps on iPhone, but interacting with it meant picking up the phone. CarPlay flips that logic: drivers will be able to trigger part of the workflow straight from the car’s screen.

The main use case — route planning, finding the right places, recommendations and more complex voice queries. The full feature set has not yet been revealed. Most likely Gemini in Google Maps on CarPlay will do roughly the same things it does on iPhone: search for restaurants, parking, charging stations, clarify route details and field more natural questions than a standard voice search.

The launch will probably happen through a dedicated button inside the Google Maps interface. A standalone Gemini app for CarPlay is also expected. With iOS 26.4, Apple opened CarPlay to third-party chatbots, and ChatGPT is already available in the in-car interface. There is a catch, though: such apps cannot be activated with their own voice phrase. They have to be launched manually by tapping the icon.

The only fully voice-driven assistant in CarPlay is still Siri. Interestingly, Siri itself is also due for an AI upgrade — powered by Gemini technology. Apple may share details at WWDC, with the launch expected in the autumn. On Android Auto, Gemini began rolling out back in late 2025, but the process is still incomplete.

Google wants to bring the assistant to every Android device by the end of the year. Users are already complaining, though: Gemini can be too chatty behind the wheel, distracting, prone to glitches and capable of fumbling even basic tasks like phone calls.

For CarPlay drivers this update could be genuinely useful — if Google keeps Gemini short and precise. On the road, AI is needed not for long conversations but for quick decisions: where to go, where to turn, where to charge and how to keep your hands off the phone.