Rivian's New AI Assistant Knows What You Mean, Not Just What You Say

Electric truck and SUV manufacturer Rivian on Tuesday announced the rollout of its new Rivian Assistant AI via software update to all compatible R1T and R1S owners subscribed to its Connect Plus cellular data plan. The new functionality will also be unlocked for the upcoming R2 at launch later this year. Powered directly by the EV's onboard hardware and software rather than layered atop a phone-mirroring system or living in the cloud, Rivian's Assistant will gain native access to almost all vehicle systems -- which enables advanced features beyond just answering questions.

Rivian first announced at its Autonomy & AI Day event last year that an AI-powered in-vehicle assistant was coming. At the time, the automaker's engineers and software developers detailed how it planned to use the powerful compute hardware in its R1 and R2 series EVs for everything from a new generation of driver-assist and autonomous features ...