If you connect your phone to a new Chevy expecting Android Auto, you’ll come up empty. In 2023, GM abandoned Android Auto and switched to a Google Built-in setup, and other carmakers are also stepping back from phone mirroring.
A lot of drivers call whatever replaces it “the Google one.” In reality, Google offers two different software stacks for cars: Android Automotive and Google Built-in. One of them is a collection of apps. The other can control nearly everything in the vehicle.
Neither one needs your phone
It helps to begin with what the two systems share, since that’s where most of the confusion comes from. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay mirror your phone’s display on the dashboard. Android Automotive and Google Built-in work differently. Each is a standalone operating system with its own apps and features, and neither needs a connected phone to run.
You don’t need an Android handset for either one, either. Logging your phone and your car into the same Google account can help with compatibility, but you don’t have to.
From behind the wheel, it’s harder to tell the two apart. The difference still affects how your infotainment screen looks and how it works.
Android Automotive is the plumbing
Android Automotive Operating System, or AAOS, is a full-stack platform that automakers install in the vehicle itself. It can handle the radio, climate control, cameras, mirrors, lighting, seat adjustments and the instrument cluster.
It’s open source and can be customized extensively. Carmakers start from Google’s architecture to build their own infotainment software, add their own in-house Android apps and rework layouts to match their brand.
Because of that flexibility, you might never realize Google is involved. Rivian OS, Rivian’s infotainment system, is built on the open source Android Automotive architecture, and Rivian doesn’t put Google branding on it.
Google Built-in is the part you notice
Google Built-in arrived in 2020. It’s a package of Google apps that carmakers license and add on top of their Android Automotive systems. Google Maps and Gemini come from this layer.
Licensing it also gives cars access to the Google Play Store, which brings media apps such as Spotify, YouTube and Google Play. Sixteen brands offer Google Built-in right now, including Honda, Volvo, Chevy, Nissan, Ford, BYD and Renault. The full list is on Google’s Built-in website.
The short version: every car with Google Built-in runs Android Automotive. Many Android Automotive cars, such as a Rivian, don’t run Google Built-in.
Gemini is widening the gap
The distance between the two platforms could grow as Google puts more AI into its Built-in apps. Gemini is officially taking over from Google Assistant as the voice assistant across those 16 car brands.
Google Maps gets the largest upgrade. It will now include real-time traffic updates, EV-specific routing and Gemini’s smart navigation. Drivers will also be able to have Gemini check their email and messages, build playlists and even order dinner.
Google is promoting Gemini Live most heavily. It lets you talk with the assistant about your destination, and it can also use the car’s front-facing camera. That’s useful if you want commentary on whatever is directly in front of your hood, though few drivers are likely to ask for that more than once.
The more useful features sit further down Google’s list. Gemini can adjust in-car settings, bring up controls that are buried in menus and report on the car’s battery or performance metrics.
Gemini’s rollout started earlier this summer. Cars with Android Auto support received it first, and Google Built-in brands such as Honda, Chevrolet and Volvo followed.
Not every automaker wants Google’s assistant
Some of Google’s partners are taking a different path. Ford and Rivian have invested in building their own AI assistants instead.
GM is reportedly doing both. It’s bringing Gemini into its Google Built-in software, and reports say it’s also building its own in-vehicle AI, due to launch later this year.
In an interview with CNBC, GM executive Anna Santos said the in-house assistant will draw on “GM vehicle knowledge and OnStar intelligence” to “go beyond what a general purpose assistant can do.”
Why drivers are skeptical
Carmakers argue that native systems connect drivers more closely to their vehicles. Many customers don’t believe it. Reactions to losing phone mirroring have ranged from confusion to anger, and some owners say the real motive is new revenue, from subscriptions or selling driver data, rather than a better driving experience.
That’s why the label matters when you’re shopping. A spec sheet that lists Google Built-in means you get Google Maps, the Play Store and Gemini. If it lists only Android Automotive, you get whatever the automaker decided to build on top of it, so try out that screen at the dealership before you sign anything.