Ahead of its fourth-quarter and 2025 annual earnings call today, GM announced that its software and subscription business is quickly gaining steam. The automaker said that last year, it recorded $5.4 billion in deferred revenue (meaning unearned revenue over time, through a recurring service) from its various OnStar-related connected services. These include various safety systems, in-car WiFi, access to audio streaming apps and more. GM is projecting deferred revenue from software to rise to $7.5 billion in 2026.
GM's integration with Gemini is the next logical step for the automaker. Vehicles produced by GM brands Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC already have "Google built-in," an operating system that gives drivers access to Google Assistant, Google Maps, and other apps directly from the car's infotainment screen. In 2023, Google began using Google Cloud's Dialogflow chatbot to handle non-emergency OnStar features, including common driver queries like routing and navigation assistance.