Cupertino, September 21 — Apple’s CarPlay now supports third-party AI chatbot apps, following the introduction of an API in iOS 26.4 that allows developers to bring AI chatbots into the in-car infotainment system. According to a report by Filipe Espósito for Engadget, several major chatbots are already available, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Meta AI, xAI’s Grok, and Anthropic’s Claude. ChatGPT, as the most popular AI bot, is CarPlay-ready.
If it is already installed on an iPhone, it appears on the CarPlay Home Screen. Users can tap the ChatGPT icon and select “New Voice Chat” to speak naturally.
Voice only, for safety
For safety while driving, all AI tools compatible with CarPlay work only through voice commands, and most allow users to resume an existing conversation from another device. To use these apps, an iPhone must be running iOS 26.4 or later, which can be checked via Settings > General > Software Update. Users should also update their apps through the App Store by tapping the profile icon, choosing App Updates, swiping down to refresh, and selecting Update All.
The report also mentions that if an iPhone is updated to iOS 27, Siri AI becomes available, but this requires an iPhone 15 Pro or later for Apple Intelligence. Siri AI can be activated with the “Hey Siri” command if available in the car.
What these chatbots can’t do
However, the chatbots have limitations. They cannot be accessed with a wake word like Siri, requiring users to open their apps to start talking. They cannot control anything in the car or inside other apps.
And their voice recognition depends on the quality of the car’s microphones. Background noise or poor microphones may hinder understanding, so closing windows or using the apps while parked is advised.
An internet connection is required for all these apps, and a weak or absent signal is the main reason they may stop working while driving. By default, newly-compatible CarPlay apps are added to the end of the home screen. The report was published by Engadget, with Filipe Espósito as the author.
