Rivian’s two-year effort to build its own AI Assistant will launch in early 2026. And that’s when the AI assistant will roll into the r1t lineup, not just the existing r1t generation and the R1S SUV.
Drivers and passengers will be able to use the AI assistant to apply climate control and handle other tasks inherent in the vehicle’s infotainment system. It will also connect vehicle systems with third-party applications using an agent framework built by Rivian Engineers. Google Calendar will be the first third-party app to launch on the Ai Assistant, Rivian said Thursday.
“The beauty here is that we can integrate third-party agents, and this has solved the way that future applications will integrate at the AI & Autonomy Company event in Palo Alto, California.
The AI assistant will be augmented by Google VertEX AI and Gemini for grounded data, natural conversation, and reasoning, according to Rivian.

AI Assistant Program, that TechCrunch first reported this weekreflects RJ CEO RJ Scaringe’s push to become more integrated. And the commitment was at the AI & Autonomy event in Palo Alto, California. Beyond the AI Assistant, the company details the development of new software and hardware, including a custom 5nM processor built in collaboration with arm and tsmc, which will expand the manual driving assistance system And finally let the driver take his eyes on the road.
This vertical integration work has been going on for years. By 2024, EV manufacturers are done working on their guts SHEKSION R1T Truck and R1S SUVchanging everything from the battery and suspension system to the electrical architecture, sensor stack, and software user interface.
The company’s software team led by benssaid has continued to work on the software stack. A smaller group – the size of Rivia’s people will not be imagined – focuses on AI Assistants, which are designed to be modeled into existing models and platforms, according to Benssaid.
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To master this assistant, Rivia has developed what it describes as a model architecture- and a platform that uses a large language model and brands it as an unrelated intelligence, or Rui. The hybrid software stack includes its own custom models and “architectural layers,” says Conductor, that make sure multiple AI models work together. Rivian says it already uses other companies for certain agent AI functions.
“Riven Unified Intelligence is a network of connections that runs through Rivian’s highly digital ecosystem,” Bensaid said at the event. “This platform enables targeted agent solutions that drive value through the entire operation and entire vehicle lifecycle.”
For example, Rui will be used for more than just providing an AI assistant, according to the company. It will also be used to improve vehicle diagnostics, which Rivian describes as “Expert Assistants for Technicians, Scanning Telemetry and History to solve complex problems.”

