AI agents are coming to Rivian’s cars
Rivian plans to let drivers use AI agents from other companies in its cars, extending the voice assistant it recently introduced. CEO RJ Scaringe said the feature is a future step, but gave no launch date; it matters because Rivian is considering ways for car software to work with assistants that can draw on users’ wider digital context.
Rivian’s own system currently routes requests, such as changing the temperature or summarising news, to suitable models running in the vehicle or in the cloud. It can already access some outside services, including Google Calendar, but adding AI products from other firms will require technical work and coordination. Scaringe stressed that agents will not control safety-critical functions such as steering or braking. Tesla has also added access to its Grok assistant.
- Rivian is planning support for AI agents from other companies.
- No launch date has been announced.
- Agents will not control steering or braking.
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Rivian is an electric car maker whose vehicles use software for features such as navigation, climate settings and voice commands. Its recently introduced assistant can send requests to AI models running in the car or online, and can connect to some services such as Google Calendar.
AI agents are software assistants that can use information and services to help with tasks, rather than only answer a single question. Connecting outside agents to a car involves technical work and decisions about which vehicle functions they can access; Rivian says they would not control steering or braking.
The idea reflects a wider effort by carmakers to make in-car software work with digital services people already use. Tesla has also added access to an AI assistant, Grok.
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The case for
Allowing drivers to choose AI agents from other companies could make Rivian’s voice assistant more useful by connecting it to services and personal context they already use. If agents remain confined to non-safety-critical tasks, the feature could broaden choice and convenience while Rivian retains control of driving functions.
The case against
Adding outside agents could create privacy and security risks if they gain access to sensitive personal data or connected services, and coordinating different systems may make reliability harder to ensure. Even when agents cannot steer or brake, inaccurate or distracting responses could affect drivers, so a cautious rollout and clear limits would matter.