Automakers face an uphill battle to regain control over their in-car infotainment systems as tech giants Apple and Google expand their dominance with AI-enabled voice assistants. These assistants, powered by the vast amounts of personal data these companies already collect, are poised to become even more essential for drivers, leaving automakers at a disadvantage in competing for consumer attention.
Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant, already integrated through mirroring services like CarPlay and Android Auto, are becoming more sophisticated, using artificial intelligence to understand driver commands, deliver natural speech responses, and seamlessly connect with broader ecosystems such as smart homes. With access to consumer data like location, calendars, and browsing history, Apple and Google can offer deeply personalized and powerful user experiences that automakers struggle to match.
According to Alex Oyler, director at SBD Automotive, automakers lack the necessary data to build comparable systems, limiting their ability to provide a competitive user experience. While manufacturers have been working to develop their own visual interfaces for infotainment centers, voice assistants represent a new battleground where Big Tech’s advantage is even more apparent.
To bridge the gap, many automakers have outsourced the development of voice assistant technology to third-party providers like SoundHound AI, Cerence, and Amazon. Google itself offers a built-in native voice assistant for automotive use, further cementing its influence in vehicles. However, building a voice assistant from scratch, with advanced speech recognition and language processing capabilities, is a complex and costly endeavor most automakers are unwilling to undertake.
The issue goes beyond convenience, as tech companies are also rolling out large language models that can parse speech with increasing accuracy and provide sophisticated responses. For example, if integrated with Google Home, Google Assistant can now remotely turn on home lights. Automakers, on the other hand, are still grappling with the basic integration of such services.
The challenge for automakers is compounded by the fact that, even within their vehicles, they compete with what’s available through smartphone mirroring services.
Established players in voice recognition, such as SoundHound AI, are adopting large language models from OpenAI and Silicon Valley, integrating systems that can function with or without a mobile connection. Yet, automakers lose valuable customer interaction space to these third-party voice assistants. For instance, drivers signing in to their Google or Amazon accounts hear reminders like “Hey, Google” or “Hey, Siri,” reinforcing tech companies’ control over the experience.
Furthermore, Google’s assistant includes services such as Google Maps and the Google Play Store, which limits an automaker’s ability to fully customize its infotainment suite. The more deeply the voice assistants are integrated, the more control automakers lose over customer data and interaction points within the vehicle.
As AI-driven voice assistants continue to evolve, automakers may find themselves forced to allow more control over vehicle functions, such as cruise control and climate settings, through services like Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. As drivers become more enamored with these familiar, AI-powered systems, automakers must navigate the growing tension between enhancing the user experience and maintaining control over their platforms.=
