Ford Adds a Free AI Assistant to Its App for 8 Million Owners
Got a Ford or Lincoln? A new chatbot already knows your truck's towing limit, your fuel level, and what your owner's manual says. Here is what it does and what it costs.
Key points
- Ford is rolling out a free AI chatbot to the Ford and Lincoln mobile apps, targeting 8 million vehicle owners.
- The assistant pulls live vehicle data to answer questions about towing capacity, fuel levels, cargo space, and upcoming service needs.
- Google's Gemini AI is available now in compatible dashboards; Ford's own voice assistant arrives inside vehicles in 2027.
- Ford says the app version is free, but won't commit to that price once it moves into the vehicle's operating system.
- Rivian, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors have all launched rival in-car AI tools.
Ford wants to put an AI assistant in drivers' hands without asking them to buy a new car. The chatbot is live now in the Ford and Lincoln mobile apps, rolling out in waves to roughly 8 million owners.
What can it actually do for you?
The assistant knows your specific vehicle. Because the app is already linked to your car or truck, it pulls live data: current fuel level, how much weight your truck can tow, and when service might be coming due. You can upload a photo of a boat or a piece of furniture and ask whether your vehicle can handle it. It'll also answer questions straight from your owner's manual, which means less time digging through a glove box.
All of this happens on your phone for now. Ford told The Verge AI it plans a voice-powered version inside vehicles themselves in 2027.
What does it cost, and what is the catch?
Ford says the assistant is free. No subscription, no paywall, at least for now. The company won't say whether that holds once the assistant moves off your phone and into the vehicle's dashboard screen. That matters, because automakers have a real history of locking features behind monthly fees after launch.
How does this compare to what other carmakers are doing?
| Automaker | AI tool | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Ford / Lincoln | Ford AI assistant (Gemini in dashboard now) | Own app first, in-car by 2027 |
| Rivian | Rivian voice assistant | Built into vehicle |
| Mercedes-Benz | Mercedes voice assistant | Built into vehicle |
| BMW | Amazon Alexa | Third-party supplier |
| General Motors | Google Gemini | Third-party supplier |
| Volvo / Polestar | Google Gemini (via Android OS) | Built into vehicle OS |
Ford's approach differs from most rivals. Rather than waiting for a software update that only reaches newer models, the app lets Ford put the assistant in front of every owner immediately.
Vehicles running Ford and Lincoln's Android-based software will get Google's Gemini AI, a large language model (an AI trained on huge amounts of text to hold conversations and answer questions), as an opt-in option for navigation, texts, and media playback. Ford's long-term goal is for its own assistant to take over all of that. The company designed the assistant to work with multiple AI systems rather than a single provider, so it can swap the underlying technology as the field moves. We covered a similar pattern with Waze adding Gemini for navigation queries last July, where the app-first rollout reached drivers weeks before any in-car update.
What should Ford or Lincoln owners do right now?
Open the Ford or Lincoln mobile app and look for the assistant feature. It's rolling out gradually, so check back if it hasn't appeared yet. Ask it something specific: your towing limit, your next service date. Judge from there whether it earns a place in your routine.
Watch the pricing page once the in-car version launches. Free today doesn't always mean free tomorrow, and that's the part of this announcement I'd want Ford to put in writing.
