Apple CarPlay gets a big AI upgrade in iOS 26.4 that lets you talk to ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude — but there’s a catch

• The iOS 26.4 beta opens up CarPlay to third-party AI bots
• Apps like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini could soon show up
• These apps will still need to be updated to work on CarPlay

Just a few days after the upgrade was rumored, it's arrived: the new iOS 26.4 public beta release enables third-party, voice-controlled AI chatbots on CarPlay, so you can chat to the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude from inside your vehicle.

As spotted by MacRumors, the official CarPlay Developer Guide put together by Apple has been updated to reflect the change. A new voice control screen is being implemented that enables these conversational chatbots to provide visual feedback.

This doesn't mean you can start talking to ChatGPT right away, even if you've installed the beta software: apps such as ChatGPT will need to be updated to take advantage of the new feature, and that could take some time.

What's more, these apps won't displace Siri as the default voice assistant. They won't let you control any of the functions of your car or your iPhone with your voice, and you won't be able to assign a 'wake word' to them – you'll need to launch them with a tap.

AI friends

Apple hasn't said exactly why it's enabling this functionality now, but we know it has been playing nicely with third-party AI chatbots for some time. ChatGPT is currently integrated into Siri, and Google Gemini models will be powering Siri later this year.

In fact, the new and improved, Gemini-powered Siri was supposed to appear with iOS 26.4 too – though there's no sign of it yet. The latest word from those in the know is that it'll turn up with iOS 27, which is scheduled to roll out around September time.

iOS 26.4 should be out for everyone within a few weeks: by that time, Google, OpenAI, Claude, and others may have enabled CarPlay access. We're also getting a bunch of other upgrades with iOS 26.4, including Apple Music and Camera improvements.

Of course, opening up CarPlay like this doesn't do Apple any harm in terms of avoiding further regulatory scrutiny either – especially from the EU. It means alternative AIs will be available from CarPlay just like they are from your iPhone home screen.

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