CES 2026 made one thing clear: innovation in audio and the in-car experience is accelerating fast. Across the show, advances in AI, user interfaces and voice point toward a car where audio is no longer peripheral, but central to the overall experience. Although it will have to fight for prominence with other entertainment sources such as video
As vehicles become more software-defined and AI-powered, audio has a big opportunity to deliver a quality user experience. With that comes high expectations: audio in the car must be instant, reliable and consistently high quality.
This shift raises the bar for all audio, including radio, and innovation and partnerships will be vital.
Another strong signal from CES is the continued move toward voice-led and AI-supported interaction. Carmakers such as Ford and BMW are embedding assistants deeper into the driving experience and voice/AI providers such as Amazon Alexa, Cerence and Soundhound are using Agentic AI to power better content discovery via voice. Radio needs to be at the forefront of this development.
As discovery moves from browsing to asking, predictability becomes critical. When a driver says “play radio” or asks for recommendations for stations or podcasts, the system must respond clearly and consistently. Ambiguity quickly turns into friction.
CES also reflected a broader shift towards enabling users to find the content they want more easily and faster through more direct user journeys. Simplicity of these user journeys will win the day and good quality metadata from broadcasters will help unlock those. Distraction needs to be reduced, not be reducing the number of services but by streamlining the way users can find thema and the specific content they want.
Radio remains one of the strongest audio experiences in the car. Live content, local relevance and habitual listening still set it apart and partners we met at CES recognise that. But the radio industry needs to move faster, and with clarity, on working within the industry and with partners on defining the next generation radio experience or it will be done without us
There are many ways to put radio into a car. Radioplayer is the only platform built to deliver radio as a single, native experience across markets and vehicles, designed for how modern cars are actually built, and how the audience sees and interacts with it
Radioplayer is not approaching this challenge theoretically. Today, Radioplayer works with 17 major car brands, powers radio in more than 5 million cars on the road, and has new partnerships already in development.
As innovation in audio and the in-car experience accelerates, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for radio in the car. The choices made now will determine whether radio remains strong, visible and trusted in the years ahead.
Radioplayer was built for this moment. Join us in the driver’s seat.
