Microsoft killing standalone Cortana app
Microsoft is ending support for its standalone Cortana app in late 2023. However, the productivity assistant version will still be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms.
It took the opportunity to punt its new AI-powered Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge productivity features.
“Starting in late 2023, we will no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app,” it said.
“However, you can still access powerful productivity features in Windows and Edge, which have increased AI capabilities.”
It also punted new AI and voice access features, essentially saying that Cortana’s functionality is available elsewhere in a more powerful form.
Microsoft said users can now use Windows 11’s voice access features instead of having to click on the Cortana icon to give vocal input.
“You can use voice commands to open and switch between apps, browse the web, and read and write emails,” it said.
It added that Windows 11 voice access works offline and uses advanced speech recognition to understand your speech and provide assistance.
Microsoft said its new GPT4-powered Bing Search could help answer complex questions and get concise answers from reliable sources online, and it supports both voice and text prompts.
The company launched its Microsoft 365 copilot feature in March 2023, and it uses user data, including calendar entries, emails, documents, chats, and meetings, to assist with creating, editing, and sharing content.
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