General Motors is rebuilding OnStar around a conversational AI assistant, starting with the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq. GM announced the OnStar AI Assistant at its GM Forward event in New York on October 21, saying it will reach the electric Lyriq through an over-the-air software update in the coming months before expanding to other GM vehicles. A GM spokesperson said the 2027 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado are next.
GM CEO Mary Barra framed the assistant as a change in what OnStar is for. "We're evolving OnStar to become a true driving partner," Barra said at the event. GM describes it as a native assistant that combines real-time vehicle data, context and connected services.
“Coming soon, we'll offer a new layer of intelligence that lives in your dashboard and understands your vehicle.”— Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors
Drivers wake the assistant with "Hey, OnStar" and speak to it conversationally. Tell it the cabin is getting warm and it lowers the temperature. It can turn on the dome lights, open the electronic glove box and charge port, and report tire pressure, charging status and projected range. It can also plan charging stops and answer whether the car can reach a given destination.
Key facts
- 01GM's OnStar AI assistant debuts on the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq via an over-the-air update in the coming months.
- 02The 2027 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado are next to get the assistant, according to a GM spokesperson.
- 03GM says AI let it test more than 300,000 battery designs virtually for its LMR cells.
- 04GM aims to cut concept-to-production time from four to five years to about two years.
- 05A new Central Compute Unit with 40 times more computing power debuts on the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ.
The assistant doubles as a manual. GM says it can explain warning lights and error messages, and walk owners through features installed on their vehicle, such as how one-pedal driving works. GM says the assistant was built with "authoritative" vehicle knowledge, and that it makes the owner's manual unnecessary.
When the AI cannot give a clear answer, it hands the driver off to a live OnStar Advisor. GM says the assistant will be part of its OnStar subscription service; it has not announced pricing.
The assistant comes alongside a consolidated OnStar smartphone app, due starting next year. It replaces the OnStar Guardian app and the separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC apps, and adds an AI chat feature, navigation help and access to vehicle camera video. It also introduces theft-triggered camera recording, which GM calls a first for the company. GM says those recordings are time-limited and encrypted, and that it cannot access the remote video files.
GM Forward also laid out how the automaker is using AI to build cars faster. GM wants to shrink its concept-to-production timeline from four to five years to about two, using AI, virtualization and what it calls a "unified digital thread" linking design, engineering and manufacturing. For its LMR batteries, GM says AI let it test more than 300,000 battery designs virtually, and the project went from first pack concept to formal approval in one month.
Those LMR cells, which use less cobalt and nickel and more manganese, will be built at GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee plant with LG Energy and anchor its fourth-generation EV platform. The platform also gets smaller, simpler electric motors that GM says use 40% fewer parts.
The in-car AI features will run on a new Central Compute Unit that handles chassis controls, active safety, perception and propulsion. GM claims it delivers 40 times more computing power with 30% less wiring. The 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ is the first vehicle to use it, followed by GM's full-size gas SUVs and pickups, three-row crossovers and Gen 4 EVs.
Starting in 2028, the Escalade IQ will also offer autonomous highway driving, which GM is testing on closed courses now. GM says it runs about 3 billion virtual test miles per day and more than 1 million real-world test miles per month, and that its gas-powered vehicles will support its most advanced driver-assistance systems as well, including autonomous highway driving on a full-size pickup.
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