General Motors AI Strategy: AI in the Car and in the Code

General Motors is putting AI at the center of its cars and of how it builds them. It promises eyes-off highway driving from 2028 and an AI assistant through OnStar, and its CEO says AI now writes nearly 90% of the autonomy team’s code. GM has no Chief AI Officer: AI sits inside its business and product teams. What GM does not report is what AI saves or earns.

GM calls it the intelligence-defined vehicle. At its GM Forward event in October 2026, GM described a “deeply integrated AI strategy” that combines shared computing platforms, its own data pipelines and specialized AI models, to get better and safer products to customers sooner. CEO Mary Barra told investors in April 2026: “The way we’re building this technology is a reflection of how seriously we’re embracing AI across the enterprise” (Q1 2026 earnings call).

The focus has four parts.

• Driving: eyes-off highway driving from 2028, starting with the Cadillac ESCALADE IQ and extending to gas-powered SUVs and pickups (October 2026)
• In the car: an OnStar AI Assistant, arriving on the 2027 Cadillac LYRIQ by over-the-air update, and a central computer that runs in-cabin AI and autonomous driving together (October 2026)
• Development: AI and virtual testing, with a goal to cut the usual four-to-five-year vehicle development time in half (October 2026)
• Manufacturing: digital twins of production lines and AI inspection of welds and paint (March 2025), plus factory AI and robotics built with NVIDIA (March 2025)

GM has also said what it will not do. In December 2024, it stopped funding Cruise’s robotaxi business and refocused autonomous driving on personal vehicles (GM release).

There is no central AI owner. GM hired its first Chief AI Officer, Barak Turovsky, in March 2025. He left in November 2025, and GM said it would embed AI in its business and product teams rather than run it as a central function (GM Authority). Sterling Anderson, executive vice president of global product and Chief Product Officer since June 2025 (GM release), now oversees most of GM’s software work and presented with Barra at GM Forward (October 2026).

GM builds on partners and its own data.

• NVIDIA: in-vehicle computers for driver assistance, and AI for factory planning, robotics and digital twins of assembly lines (March 2025)
• Google: Gemini-based conversational AI in vehicles from 2026 (October 2025)
• Data: hundreds of data-collection vehicles add about 1 million miles of sensor data a month, and simulation runs more than 3 billion virtual miles a day (October 2026)

AI is changing how GM writes software. In August 2025, AI-assisted tools produced more than 15% of GM’s new software code (Axios). In April 2026, Barra said: “Today, nearly 90% of the code written by our autonomy team is generated by AI” (Q1 2026 earnings call). The two figures cover different scopes: the first is company-wide, the second one team.

The workforce is being reshaped toward AI skills. In May 2026, GM cut about 600 IT roles while hiring for AI-native development, data engineering, and agent and model development, according to TechCrunch. GM said it is “transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future” (TechCrunch). Headcount fell from 167,000 at the end of 2022 to 155,000 at the end of 2025, and U.S. salaried staff from 58,000 to 47,000 (2025 10-K). That period includes the end of Cruise’s robotaxi business, and GM has not said how much of the change comes from AI.

On the plant floor, AI supports workers. Cobots take on dull, dirty or dangerous tasks, and AI checks welds, paint and battery packs for defects (Axios), a narrower approach than GM’s 1980s “factory of the future”, when billions spent on robots failed to deliver.

Governance sits in the code of conduct. GM’s code of conduct sets seven AI principles: inclusivity and fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, safety and security, intellectual property, and compliance. Employees must check AI output, disclose AI use where appropriate, get third-party AI tools approved and never put confidential information into consumer AI tools. In its 2025 10-K, GM names attracting AI talent and getting high-quality data to train its AI models as risks to its autonomy plans (January 2026).

AI fluency, coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix (September 2026 edition):

• Fluency floor: Not published. GM has published no AI training standard or completion figures. Its code of conduct sets rules for using AI, and its hiring favors AI-native skills.
• Highest level evidenced: Level 3 (Integrating), company-claimed. AI is built into autonomy software development, battery design, simulation and plant inspection. AI writes nearly 90% of one team’s code, but the sources reviewed do not show AI running a business process end to end, so Level 4 is not evidenced.
• Portfolio design: Builder-led. The published evidence centers on engineers, data scientists and software teams, with no stated path for the wider workforce.

GM measures AI through engineering and product milestones, not AI value. All figures below are company-claimed:

• Code: nearly 90% of the autonomy team’s code is generated by AI (April 2026)
• Development: GM tested more than 300,000 battery designs virtually before building a prototype, and went from first pack concept to program approval in one month (October 2026)
• Driving: Super Cruise customers have driven more than 1.2 billion hands-free miles across nearly 750,000 vehicles (October 2026)
• Connected services: OnStar has more than 12 million subscribers in 22 markets, the base for its AI assistant (October 2026)

GM sets targets for speed, not savings. The goal to halve development time is the clearest AI-linked target. GM does not report what AI saves in engineering, manufacturing or IT, or what AI features earn. Putting a number on that is the step from AI adoption to AI value.

Next markers: the OnStar AI Assistant launch, whether new vehicles arrive in about half the usual development time, and the eyes-off driving launch in 2028.

Change log

• December 2024: GM stops funding Cruise’s robotaxi business and refocuses on personal autonomy.
• March 2025: GM appoints its first Chief AI Officer and announces an AI partnership with NVIDIA.
• June 2025: Sterling Anderson joins as Chief Product Officer.
• August 2025: AI-assisted tools produce more than 15% of GM’s new code.
• October 2025: The GM Forward event promises eyes-off driving in 2028 and Gemini-based AI in vehicles.
• November 2025: The Chief AI Officer leaves, and AI moves into product and business teams.
• April 2026: Barra says AI generates nearly 90% of the autonomy team’s code.
• May 2026: GM cuts about 600 IT roles and hires for AI skills.
• October 2026: GM Forward 2026 sets out an integrated AI strategy and a goal to halve development time.

• Disclosure: 3 of 4. GM answers where it is going, where it will focus and what it will take. How it will know is answered in part: it reports engineering milestones and product figures, but no AI savings or revenue.
• AI is a product bet first. Eyes-off driving, the OnStar AI Assistant and a central car computer carry the strategy.
• Software is where AI has changed the work most, with AI generating nearly 90% of the autonomy team’s code.
• GM dropped its central AI role after eight months and put AI inside its product organization.
• The workforce is shifting: fewer salaried staff since 2022, and new hiring for AI-native skills.
• The say-do gap is the enterprise. Barra says GM is embracing AI across the enterprise, but the published evidence sits in engineering, with no training standard or usage figure for the wider workforce.
• Watch development time. The test is whether AI really halves how long it takes GM to bring a new vehicle to market.

What the numbers show: Revenue rose 18% from 2022 to 2025 while headcount fell 7%, lifting revenue per employee 27% to about $1.19 million. Most of the reduction was salaried: U.S. salaried staff fell by about 11,000, a period that includes the end of Cruise’s robotaxi business and cuts in IT and software roles. GM has not said how much of the change comes from AI. These figures do not show that AI caused any change.

Revenue, headcount and revenue per employee, FY2022 to FY2025

• FY2022: $156.7bn revenue, 167,000 employees, $939k per employee
• FY2023: $171.8bn revenue, 163,000 employees, $1.05M per employee
• FY2024: $187.4bn revenue, 162,000 employees, $1.16M per employee
• FY2025: $185.0bn revenue, 155,000 employees, $1.19M per employee

Change, FY2022 to FY2025: revenue up 18%, headcount down 7%, revenue per employee up 27%.

Notes: Revenue is total net sales and revenue, as reported. Headcount is employees at year-end, rounded to the nearest thousand. Headcount includes Cruise, GM’s autonomous driving unit, which GM folded into its own autonomy work after it stopped funding Cruise’s robotaxi business in December 2024. U.S. salaried employees fell from 58,000 at the end of 2022 to 47,000 at the end of 2025, while U.S. hourly employees rose from 46,000 to 47,000.

These figures give context on scale and productivity. They do not show that AI caused any change. Sources: General Motors 10-K filings.

What is General Motors’ AI strategy?

GM wants to build what it calls the intelligence-defined vehicle. It combines its own computing platform, data and AI models to bring eyes-off highway driving from 2028 and an OnStar AI Assistant, and it uses AI and virtual testing to cut vehicle development time in half.

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Does General Motors have a Chief AI Officer?

Not anymore. Barak Turovsky held the role from March to November 2025. GM then moved AI into its business and product teams, and Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson oversees most of its software work.

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How much of GM’s code is written by AI?

CEO Mary Barra said in April 2026 that AI generates nearly 90% of the code written by GM’s autonomy team. Company-wide, AI-assisted tools produced more than 15% of new software code in August 2025.

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Is General Motors cutting jobs because of AI?

GM cut about 600 IT roles in May 2026 while hiring for AI skills, and its U.S. salaried workforce fell by about 11,000 between 2022 and 2025. GM has not said how much of that comes from AI; the period also includes the end of Cruise’s robotaxi business.

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How is this profile put together?

Lead with AI profiles use public sources only, such as annual reports, earnings materials, filings and on-record interviews, dated at the time of writing. AI fluency is coded against the Lead with AI Fluency Matrix. Company figures are marked as company-claimed unless they have been independently verified.