Ford Joins Rivian in the AI Car Assistant Arena

Ford has announced its plan to launch an innovative AI assistant designed to support drivers with everyday tasks.

Beginning in the first half of the year, Ford intends to introduce the initial version of this AI tool via its mobile app, allowing users to experience this technology through the Ford and Lincoln apps, which are already popular with its customers.

Described as possessing profound personalized intelligence, the assistant is expected to be tuned to each vehicle, cater to the driver's specific needs, and predict desires during all trips, as noted in Ford's statement.

A Two-Step Release Plan

Sammy Omari, leading Ford's Advanced Driver Assist Systems, conveyed to Business Insider that by 2027, the AI assistant would transition into direct integration with vehicles, broadening its reach across Ford's fleet.

Ford will not be creating a proprietary large language model (LLM) but will instead customize an existing one to provide access to essential information specific to each vehicle.

Rivian's Comparable Ventures

Rivian, another major player in the EV market, revealed plans for a similar voice-activated AI assistant set to emerge in early 2026 for its R1 models, demonstrating a natural command response such as modifying cabin temperature.

Tech Innovations at CES 2026

Ford's news comes amid other noteworthy announcements at the CES 2026 in Las Vegas, including Zoox's robotaxi demonstrations and Uber's unveiling in cooperation with Lucid and Nuro.

Additionally, Nvidia introduced Alpamayo, a novel open AI platform aimed at fostering advancements in autonomous driving technologies.