Rivian’s AI voice assistant is ready to roll

Rivian’s AI voice assistant is it’s coming out today for company cars. The service will be available through an in-app update to all Rivian Gen 1 and Gen 2 owners who sign up for the company’s Connect Plus cell service, which costs $15 a month or $150 a year, or is on trial.

First announced on Last year of AI is Autonomy DayRivian’s agent is powered by the company’s Rivian Unified Intelligence, a “shared, multi-layered AI foundation” that “connects” across the company. The assistant is integrated into the traffic flow, and will integrate with third-party applications such as Google Calendar. Rivian has said that the assistant was developed in-house, but it is “inspired” by third-party brands “for stable information, natural dialogue and dynamic thinking.”

I have to try it the first version of Rivian Assistant last year. Although I was sometimes slow to respond to questions, I thought the range of things the agent was able to do was impressive. It can be activated via the scroll wheel on the steering wheel or simply by saying “Hey Rivian.” In the demo, the assistant was shown to be able to read upcoming events in Google Calendar and make changes, such as rescheduling a meeting.

Rivian gave several examples of ways owners can interact with the assistant, such as asking if the river is shallow enough to cross, showing their car’s bed camera, or combining distance traveled with questions about sunset time. A therapist can also respond to natural, natural resources. For example, saying “you need to get cleaned up on the way home” encourages the agent to find a nearby car wash.

Rivian does not allow smartphone display systems like Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, instead designing and manufacturing most of these features. Rivian says that thanks to this, it can create an AI assistant that interacts directly with the car’s hardware, allowing owners to use their voice to control key functions such as HVAC, drive selection, battery charging, and more. In fact, Rivian is working on Android Automotive for its R1 cars, as well as the upcoming R2 and R3 cars.

Rivian owners still need to connect separately to their various apps and services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Google Calendar, and more, in order for the assistant to find them. After doing this, they can ask the assistant to send messages to their friends, or search their messages for information. They can also ask questions about the weather or news topics.