Smart digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and the Google Assistant are infinitely helpful entities, at least until you depart the house. Now, it’s possible to access your virtual butler while on the road, too — Alexa is being offered in vehicles. What can Alexa actually do in the car, though, and is it helpful?
Let’s dig in to discover how well it works and whether it adds to the overall driving experience. If you want a primer on using Alexa devices in the home, check out our article all about what Alexa is and how it works, or read our Amazon Echo Show (2nd-gen) review.
For starters, let’s differentiate between the various Alexa products for your car. There is Alexa Built-in, which comes factory-installed in some new vehicles (see which ones here). If you have an older car but still want to get some smarts, you can add Echo Auto as an aftermarket module (learn how to install Alexa in your car). For the sake of this article, we’ll focus on the Built-in version, since it’s more reliable and connected than the add-on version.
Alexa Built-in for your car means you get:
Anyone who’s ever tried to set the clock on the dashboard knows cars can be frustrating at times. Fortunately, setup for Alexa in the Chevrolet Blazer is simple. First, download and set up your car’s specific app (i.e., myChevrolet, myBuick, myGMC). Once you have that set up, you can connect Alexa:
To access Alexa in your vehicle, you need to push the Voice Control button on the steering wheel. Unlike when you’re at home, you can’t just call for Alexa by name. This appears to be a safety feature, ensuring the driver remains focused instead of letting other people give Alexa a bunch of commands.
You can ask Alexa to do any number of things specific to your car. Like using Alexa at home, you do need to word your commands carefully so it knows just how to respond.
The Alexa Built-in app requires a connection to the cloud, and new cars that offer this service already have that connectivity built in, often using a 4G LTE monthly auto data plan. Interestingly, in the Chevrolet vehicle we tested, it’s possible to connect your car to a cellular hotspot or even your home Wi-Fi.
A few years ago, many of us probably thought having a voice-controlled digital butler was unnecessary. But now that they exist in so many homes, we’re learning to live with them and take advantage of all they can do. Similarly, we’ve all made it this far on the road without a robot assistant, but having extra hands-free smarts in the car does quickly become comfortable. If you’re buying a new car and it comes with Alexa Built-in, congratulations! You’ll likely find it a helpful way to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.
Missing out on the self-driving future is a tough pill to swallow, especially as a car enthusiast. But that is what Tesla handed us on Wednesday, without a hint of mercy.
During its October 21, 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk told investors the Cybercab is meant mainly as a ride service. Further, nearly all of them will be owned and managed by Tesla.