Android Auto is making it safer to respond to texts while driving

If you've driven your fair share of miles over the past decades, you'll have seen signs and billboards urging you not to text and drive. Myriad governments have adopted hands-free mandates, while automakers have responded by installing large dashboard displays that have the potential to be even more fiddly and distracting than if you had just fumbled with your phone. Voice interfaces have helped a bit, but interactions can be drawn out and any misinterpretations in the chain can make the process excruciating.

So, what can help? A little bit of artificial intelligence, says Google. If you use a dash device that supports Android Auto — the service that essentially mirrors an instance of your phone onto the vehicle's infotainment system — here's what you need to know.

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Google's AI integration into Android Auto

The company has been working on integrating artificial intelligence into its messaging surfaces, including Google Messages, for a good while now. For some reason, though, Google decided to turn this particular announcement over to one of its major partners in Android. At the launch of the Galaxy S24 series of smartphones in Jan. 2024, Samsung dedicated some stage time to talking about Android Auto, gaining the ability to summarize longer messages and active group chats if you use Google Messages.

The feature can also suggest contextual responses you can quickly send without taking too much of your driving attention away. You can also share your estimated time of arrival or start a call. Oddly enough, Google actually debuted the same set of features (or, at least, a highly similar one) shortly before the new year, framed within the realm of Google Assistant (via Android Police).

Keep an eye out for branding changes: Assistant to Gemini

Media provided by Google still ties this feature with the Assistant branding, but you might be aware that Google has been putting all of its backing behind the Gemini label for anything remotely related to AI, so we'll