Microsoft has announced that it will discontinue support for the Cortana app on Windows 10 and Windows 11 later this year, paving the way for the launch of a new AI assistant, Windows Copilot. The move comes just a week after the company unveiled the Windows Copilot, a smarter AI assistant powered by ChatGPT technology and capable of handling more complex queries.
According to Microsoft’s support documentation, the retirement of Cortana will only impact users of the standalone app on Windows. The company assured that the productivity assistant Cortana will continue to be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms. The transition is expected to be smooth, with different tools being made available to fulfill the productivity needs of the users that were earlier satisfied by the Cortana app.
Microsoft has highlighted several of its recent AI products and services, including Bing Chat AI and the soon-to-launch Windows Copilot, as suitable replacements for the Cortana app. The new Windows Copilot is expected to be capable of performing most tasks that the Cortana app currently does, and even more. It is expected to launch this fall, around the same time that Cortana is retired.
While the Cortana assistant in Windows is being retired, Cortana as a productivity assistant in Microsoft 365 apps will continue to function as normal. The change is focused solely on the Cortana assistant in Windows.
The retirement of Cortana from Windows signals a significant shift in Microsoft’s approach to AI and voice assistants, with the company betting on the capabilities of its new AI, Windows Copilot, to provide a better experience to Windows users.
