Google has recently given the Google Assistant experience in Android Auto a facelift. The new look, which pops up during voice chats with the Assistant, is drawing comparisons to Apple’s Siri on CarPlay. We’ll let you decide if that’s indeed the case.

First spotted by 9to5Google, Google Assistant on Android Auto seems to be getting a new circular hovering UI with a dynamic, colorful wave that animates in response to voice activity, occupying the lower portion of the screen. Notably, this new interface doesn’t replace the Google Assistant bar at the bottom of the screen, which is still your go-to for starting commands. Instead, this new design takes center stage when the Assistant is waiting for your response — like when it needs you to pick which coffee shop you actually want directions to.

However, this design choice bears a close resemblance to Siri’s visual representation on CarPlay. Siri on CarPlay also features a colorful, animated circular wave UI that appears during voice interactions and is positioned in the lower part of the screen. Google’s version, naturally, uses its distinctive color palette.

While some might wonder if a new UI is really necessary when Google Assistant is already occupying the bottom bar, it definitely adds a bit of visual flair to the Android Auto experience. But let’s be honest, the resemblance to Siri’s interface is hard to miss, and it’s certainly got people talking.

It’s not clear yet how widely this new look has been rolled out or if it’s here to stay as the default for Google Assistant on Android Auto. It’s worth noting that Google is gradually transitioning to Gemini as its default assistant on mobile devices, though Android Auto has yet to experience this shift.

Google launched Android Auto in 2015, promising a better car infotainment system to make driving easier. It brought the familiar Android interface to car screens, ...

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Google announced Assistant AI summaries for Android Auto alongside the launch of the Galaxy s24 series. The feature utilizes Google Assistant to automatically summarize long messages or group chats while you’re driving without having to reach for your phone.

In a support document, Google has now detailed exactly how to use Google Assistant to summarize messages on Android Auto. Before jumping in, Google notes the feature won’t be available for all devices, regions, countries, and languages.

“Artificial intelligence generates your message summaries, so there could be mistakes. You can turn this off any time in Android Auto settings,” Google notes. It further informs that “Assistant doesn’t log messages or summaries, and the interactions aren’t used to train the Large Language Model (LLM).”

Additionally, the document says that messages over 40 words meet the requirement for AI-generated summaries. If there’s only one long message or multiple messages from the same sender or group, the messages are summarized automatically when you tap Play Aloud.
Otherwise, Assistant will read the message without summarization. If there are multiple conversations from different senders or apps, Assistant will read them individually.

How to opt-in for Android Auto Assistant summaries

The first time a user receives such a message, Assistant will play a request for approval to summarize. Users will need to consent by saying “yes” to play out the summary. Users can also manually opt-in for Assistant summaries on Android Auto by going into Android Auto Settings > Notifications > Play AI message summaries.

If Assistant’s request to play out the summarized message is denied, the feature will automatically get disabled, and users will have to reactivate it in the settings on the phone and Android Auto.

Google announced Assistant AI summaries for Android Auto alongside the launch of the Galaxy s24 series. The feature utilizes Google Assistant to automatically summarize long messages or group chats while you’re driving without having to reach for your phone.