The future of in-car experiences will be personal, intelligent, and adaptive

For decades, cars have been one of the most personal machines people own, yet the in-vehicle experience has largely remained standardised. The automotive industry has traditionally focused on improving performance, safety and comfort through hardware innovation. Today, however, competitive differentiation is increasingly shifting to software. At the centre of this transition lies Artificial Intelligence (AI).

According to McKinsey’s 2026 analysis of the automotive software and electronics market, the share of the automotive software market addressable by AI could rise from 59% in 2025 to 78% by 2035, with the strongest applications in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and in-vehicle infotainment, both at 95% addressability by 2035. Within infotainment, voice control and personalised user experiences are among the applications cited.

As software-defined vehicles (SDVs) become more mainstream, in-vehicle personalisation is evolving from a convenience feature into a defining characteristic of the ownership experience. AI enables SDVs to move beyond the automation of isolated functions, allowing vehicles to understand driver behaviour, interpret context, and deliver highly personalised experiences.

Moving Beyond Static Personalisation

Vehicle personalisation has traditionally meant storing basic driver preferences such as seat position, mirror angle, and climate settings. AI is changing that. Vehicles now learn dynamically from driving behaviour, frequently travelled routes and charging habits, anticipating what a driver needs rather than simply responding to commands.

More importantly, personalisation is no longer limited to individual features. With SDVs operating as connected software ecosystems, AI enables multiple systems to work together, creating experiences that feel intuitive rather than programmed. Before a journey begins, the vehicle can proactively plan the optimal route based on live traffic, pre-condition the cabin, recommend a charging stop if required, and seamlessly resume media from the driver’s smartphone. In a single interaction, AI orchestrates navigation, climate control, battery management and infotainment to deliver a seamless, personalised experience without requiring multiple manual inputs.

The distinction between context-aware and person-aware personalisation is becoming increasingly important. Many connected vehicle systems today respond intelligently to external conditions such as traffic, road elevation or weather. True AI-driven personalisation, however, goes a step further by continuously learning an individual driver’s habits, preferences and behaviour, enabling the vehicle to make decisions tailored to the person behind the wheel rather than simply reacting to changing conditions.

This reflects a broader shift in consumer expectations, particularly in markets such as India. Deloitte's 2026 Global Automotive Consumer Study for India found that 84% of Indian respondents are willing to adopt AI-enabled customisation, while 95% are willing to pay for software-defined vehicle capabilities such as safety, security and continuous vehicle-health reporting. India also records the strongest global concern about connected-vehicle data, with 73% concerned about sharing personal device data and 72% about vehicle location data, underscoring the need for AI-powered personalisation to be accompanied by strong data privacy, transparency and user control.

Increasingly, the personalisation journey begins even before the driver enters the vehicle. Companion applications allow users to pre-condition the cabin, schedule charging sessions and access digital keys, making them an important extension of the ownership experience. However, delivering a truly seamless experience requires far more than a well-designed companion application. The real challenge lies in maintaining a consistent user profile across the smartphone, cloud and vehicle, particularly in environments where connectivity is intermittent. This is where the next phase of AI-driven personalisation will be defined, not by adding more features, but by enabling every touchpoint to function as part of a single, intelligent and connected ecosystem.

The Intelligent Co-pilot

One of the most visible manifestations of AI-powered personalisation is the evolution of the in-car assistant. AI co-pilots are evolving from command-based assistants into conversational interfaces capable of understanding user intent, maintaining context across interactions and proactively assisting with navigation, infotainment, vehicle controls, charging recommendations and other connected digital services. Rather than waiting for individual commands, these systems anticipate user needs and deliver more natural, context-aware interactions throughout the journey.

AI-powered solutions extend beyond convenience into predictive maintenance of the vehicle and driver monitoring systems. Predictive maintenance systems analyse data from vehicle sensors and onboard diagnostics to identify potential issues before they become faults, helping owners reduce unexpected downtime. Driver monitoring systems (DMS) analyse the driver’s facial expressions and activities, detecting fatigue, distraction and behavioural changes to provide timely alerts and enhance road safety.

The Software Foundation for Continuous Innovation

The rise of software-defined vehicles is transforming vehicle architecture by decoupling software from hardware cycles. Unlike conventional vehicles where new capabilities are largely tied to hardware upgrades or new model launches, SDVs enable automakers to continuously introduce new features and enhancements through software. This shift is supported by centralised computing platforms, connected ECUs, cloud connectivity and AI-powered digital cockpits that process data in real-time and enable seamless coordination across multiple vehicle systems.

While over-the-air (OTA) updates have existed for several years in connected vehicles, the advent of SDV architectures has significantly expanded their capabilities, enabling automakers to introduce new features, enhance existing functionalities and continuously improve the ownership experience without requiring physical service interventions. This allows vehicles to remain technologically relevant throughout their lifecycle, creating long-term value for both manufacturers and consumers.

From Features to Continuous Value

As AI capabilities continue to mature, the competitive advantage in the automotive industry will increasingly depend on how effectively automakers translate software intelligence into meaningful customer value. Success will not be defined by the number of AI-powered features a vehicle offers, but by how seamlessly those capabilities work together to deliver experiences that are intuitive, personalised and continuously evolving.

For manufacturers, this marks a fundamental shift in how vehicles are designed, engineered and supported throughout their lifecycle. Those that can build secure, connected software ecosystems, responsibly manage customer data and continuously enhance the ownership experience through intelligent software will be best positioned to strengthen customer loyalty and shape the next generation of mobility.

(The author is Managing Director, Embitel. Views are personal.)