GM's OnStar gets an AI makeover — but humans will still answer when airbags deploy

General Motors (GM) executives have confirmed to Business Insider that humans will still be staffing OnStar call centers to handle emergencies. The automaker is giving OnStar an AI makeover, but the company insists that the human touch is necessary, especially in emergency situations when airbags deploy. GM's vice president of digital products, Ed Nightingale, emphasized that a human will always be in the loop during critical incidents.

The stakes are too high, according to Nightingale, and the company wants to ensure a human response when it matters most.

On Wednesday, during GM Forward, the company's tech conference, GM unveiled its new AI-powered voice assistant designed to understand both the vehicle and the driver using it. The assistant aims to answer questions about vehicle alerts, control certain functions, plan routes around bad weather, and provide context-aware suggestions, including information from the driver's digital calendar.

This AI update is set to launch on the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq through an over-the-air update in the coming months, with plans to expand to other vehicles as well.

In addition to the AI overhaul, GM is also unifying its brand-specific mobile apps under the OnStar AI name next summer. The company's chief product officer, Sterling Anderson, described the shift as transforming the 30-year-old service into an "intelligent platform." The transformation is part of GM's larger bet on its tech capabilities, with CEO Mary Barra highlighting the company's focus on subscription products during recent earnings calls.

However, GM still needs to convince drivers that these new tools are valuable enough to use and, in some cases, pay for. Nightingale acknowledged that customer retention depends on drivers seeing the benefit of the subscription services. GM is still working on developing its hands-off, eyes-off self-driving features, which are expected to debut in the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028. Despite the challenges, GM remains committed to evolving its OnStar service through AI technology.