I’ve never been a big fan of voice assistants, but when I’m behind the wheel, I don’t have much of a choice.
I typically use Siri to handle basic tasks while driving, like making calls or changing my destination in Waze. But whenever I need to do something more complicated, I typically end up handling it myself with my Ioniq 5’s infotainment touchscreen.
Every Saturday, I drive roughly 45-50 minutes both ways to play hockey (yes, I’m Canadian). With a very active 10-month-old at home, I value that time because it’s one of the few truly quiet moments I get every week. Naturally, my mind often wanders to my work here at XDA while I’m driving, whether it’s a device I’m reviewing or a story idea I’m working through. I’ve been making the same lengthy trek to the rink for years, and have slowly realized that some of my best ideas are pulled together on those long drives.
When this happens, I often need to double-check a fact or spec as I parse a story concept in my head, especially when I’m unpacking my angle on a product review. I obviously can’t pull up my phone and Google the information, and because Siri is still very limited, Apple’s assistant isn’t really a useful option either.
This is where CarPlay’s new ChatGPT integration comes in —I can now turn to the AI assistant when I have a burning question or need to look up a fact while driving.
Here’s how to use ChatGPT with CarPlay
The setup process is straightforward
Getting ChatGPT up and running with CarPlay is relatively easy. First, you need to download the latest version of ChatGPT from the Apple App Store. Next, make sure your iPhone is running iOS 26.4 or later. This version of the OS adds CarPlay support for ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, allowing you to speak to AI hands-free.
Right now, ChatGPT is the first AI to support CarPlay integration, but I can see it coming to Gemini and Claude soon, especially since Apple Intelligence will eventually run on Google’s AI platform. This makes sense, since the iPhone’s current go-to AI assistant is ChatGPT, and Siri passes along requests it can’t answer.
First off, plug in your iPhone or connect your device wirelessly to your vehicle. Next, navigate to Settings > General > CarPlay. Select your vehicle and tap Apps. In this list, you should see every compatible CarPlay app installed on your phone, including ChatGPT. You can then move ChatGPT higher on the list so it’s easy to access from CarPlay’s main screen,
Next, tap the ChatGPT icon, then select New Voice Chat. You’ll see Connecting change to Listening, and at this point, you can have a full-on conversation with the AI while you’re behind the wheel (you may need to approve some permissions on your phone). You can also set up ChatGPT to automatically start in voice mode by opening the ChatGPT app on your phone and navigating to Settings. Under Voice, turn on Start Automatically in CarPlay (your phone needs to be connected to your car for this setting to show up). With this setting on, you can now ask Siri to open ChatGPT. This should make ChatGPT launch in voice mode, giving you a hands-free experience.
3 important ways CarPlay is better than Android Auto
Google’s in-car infotainment system offers customization and apps, but CarPlay is cohesive and reliable.
If you don’t have a lot of downtime, this integration can come in handy
There’s a bit of delay, but generally, ChatGPT’s CarPlay integration is great
If you’ve used CarPlay before, you’ll be familiar with the slight delay in the in-car projection system. Like most CarPlay apps, this occurs with ChatGPT. That said, whether I was asking ChatGPT a question about the MacBook Neo’s specs or bouncing around potential story ideas related to Nintendo 64 game decompilation efforts, the AI answered clearly and was generally very responsive. The only issue I ran into was that ChatGPT sometimes wouldn’t launch in voice mode after opening the app, but this only occurred a few times.
Apart from these hiccups, the experience has been smoother than I expected. While I don’t plan to use ChatGPT’s CarPlay integration all the time and generally take solace in the quiet of long car rides, when a random idea pops into my head that requires a bit of research, I’m glad I now have a safe in-car option.
