Grok has just joined ChatGPT and Perplexity on Apple CarPlay, giving drivers who converse with AI chatbots a third option to choose from.
Developed by Elon Musk's xAI (now SpaceXAI after the two companies were recently folded into each other), Grok's Voice mode tends to offer more quirky responses compared to the other chatbots, but the app's main CarPlay interface is very similar, thanks to Apple's stringent rules.
The app shows a list of recent conversations, and users can start a new conversation handsfree using the "Grok" invocation. It's possible to mute an ongoing conversation and resume it later, and drivers can also switch voices in the CarPlay app.
Apple started permitting third-party voice-driven conversational apps to integrate with CarPlay in iOS 26.4, but developers must add support for the feature and obtain a special entitlement from Apple.
CarPlay has supported third-party apps for years, but Apple restricts the types of apps permitted on the platform to reduce driver distractions. Apple maintains a list of approved app categories, including audio, communication, EV charging, and navigation apps.
ChatGPT was the first chatbot to become available on vehicle dashboards via CarPlay, swiftly followed by Perplexity. With the release of iOS 27 later this year, Apple is expected to release a Google Gemini-powered version of Siri, which will compete with existing AI chatbots and will even get a dedicated app, so we expect a CarPlay version of it will eventually arrive, too.
