I Tried ChatGPT in CarPlay, and It ASAP Hallucinated

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Voice mode is now available in CarPlay, but I can’t exactly recommend it.

Back in February, we learned that Apple had plans to integrate AI assistants into CarPlay . The news came along with the first beta for iOS 26. (yes, really)

4, though Apple didn’t actually include a way for testers to try out the integration in the software.

The Details

Instead, the company locked in the news in its CarPlay Developers Guide , stating that “CarPlay voice-based conversational app” support would require iOS 26. 4 last week , and while the update delivered a number of new features, none of them were AI chatbot integrations with CarPlay.

The company even dropped the first beta for iOS 26. 5 without including a mention of the upcoming feature.

Why This Matters

I’ll admit, the idea of using ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini with CarPlay totally fell off my radar, instead replaced when Apple’s big AI Siri upgrade would actually launch. But OpenAI didn’t forget about it. ChatGPT is now available in CarPlay In a surprise move, OpenAI is now rolling out ChatGPT support in CarPlay.

This is part of the broader shift happening across the tech industry right now.

Key Takeaways

• The company just dropped the news in a Thursday post on X , with the following tagline: “The voice mode you know, now available on-the-go.
• ” OpenAI locked in in the post that the feature works with iPhones running the latest version of iOS (iOS 26.
• 4. and in cars that support CarPlay, of course.
• You May Also Like I happen to have a car with CarPlay, so I had to give the feature a try.

The Bottom Line

I tried it out, and it works just about as you’d expect: When you launch ChatGPT in CarPlay, it opens directly in voice mode. ) 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 (or swear at other drivers?

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