Rivian Assistant Hands-On Video Review in 2026.15
The 2026.15 software update is officially rolling out, and the headline feature is Rivian Assistant, the new AI-powered in-vehicle voice assistant for the R1T and R1S. I spent some time with it and put together a full video review walking through how it works, what it can do, and where it lands in the real world.
The short version is that it’s a real step up from what’s been in the truck before. Voice control feels more natural, the Owner’s Guide lookups actually work the way you’d hope, and the optional Memory feature and Google Calendar integration through Rivian Intelligence in the mobile app start to make the truck feel a little more personal the longer you use it. Texting by voice is finally here too, which has been one of the most requested features from owners for a while now.
Check out the full video below for the hands-on walkthrough.
Really looking forward to Rivian assistant. Android Auto and CarPlay are ok, but as stated does not allow for the deep integration of the car. This will hopefully be another item to set Rivian apart from the rest.
Nice improvements, It would be nice to have Alexa as well. I use that to do home automation via voice (e.g. Alexia turn on driveway lights) as I am driving.. Will be interesting to test out some of the features, way to go Rivian to continuous improvements.
Some neat functionality, but is more laggy than I would have hoped. The use case makes sense when the AI cues can be processed faster than taking eyes off the road and navigating a menu. This is just the first step and hope it gets better. Comes across as a part trick right now over something that truly makes things easier. The Voice to Text could be the biggest beneficiary of that.
I made my last two car purchases with CarPlay as a must-have feature. That being said, the reason most people want CarPlay is that auto companies don’t make their software good enough. If an automaker can make software good enough, there is no need for CarPlay. Looking forward to my R2!
I disagree. CarPlay is about access to my phone and the data that lives on it. Car software alone doesn’t provide that.
I can understand where you are coming from. For me, I use navigation, phone, music, podcasts, and sometimes texting (but not a lot). When I am driving a car, I focus on driving. If a car can use modern navigation (traffic, rerouting, finding places), play music and podcasts, and handle phone calls, the rest can wait until I arrive at my destination.
What apps do you use in your CarPlay that are must-haves? I am genuinely curious, as I don’t use much third-party software (aside from Google Maps).
For me, it’s not about wanting a bunch of apps in the car. It’s that my phone is the center of my digital life, and the car is not, and never will be.
My car is not in my pocket all day. It is not where my plans change, where people send me things, where my calendar lives, where my messages land, where my confirmations arrive, or where my day gets organized. My phone is.
Sometimes that means tapping an address in a text and rerouting on the car’s screen with one click when someone says, “meet here instead.” Sometimes it means calling the person I’m meeting, pulling up the hotel from my email, continuing what I was already listening to, or getting the next calendar destination without re-entering it.
A built-in app can access a service. That is not the same thing as the car having the context of my day. I don’t need the car to replace my phone. I need it to integrate with it.
Thank you, that makes total sense. I do that stuff too, but I have had CarPlay so long, I guess I don’t think about that level of integration. I will see how much I will miss it when I don’t have it anymore.
Controlling the car is fine but what I really want is to control my phone!!
Just add CarPlay already
O dear, whenever I use the assistant it makes a hollow thump noise just like how Victor Frankensteen tapped on Eye-Gor’s hump.
This is a HUGE step forward, and with messaging and deep integration, very exciting. Those that focus on the glitches are glass half empty people; the glass is nearly full and the next update will fix most of the glitches. For me, can’t wait to try everything out. I love my Rivian R1T and am excited every time I climb in. Gotta go, heading out now to test drive my newly-updated Rivian.
Tried assistant today and it has its use case. Neat!
However, I can already see my son yelling from the backseat impatiently “Hey Rivian, show Map”, when all I want to do is pick a radio station to listen to.
In all seriousness though: unless I’m missing something, the assistant is voice unaware and could theoretically pick up anyone’s spoken words (not sure if the microphone(s) is(are) directional-aware to only pick up driver commands). I can see that being problematic at times, when you don’t want the whole soccer team you are chauffeuring to mess with your car settings. Again, haven’t tested that yet, and I’m sure the same situation is not a Rivian exclusive “problem”.