As Microsoft embraces the AI-powered Bing, the company’s other virtual assistant—Cortana—is heading toward retirement on Windows.
Microsoft quietly made the announcement in a support document, first spotted by Windows Central on Friday. “Starting in late 2023, we will no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app,” the company says.
Instead, the support document says, users can “still access powerful productivity features in Windows and Edge, which have increased AI capabilities,” a reference to how Microsoft is now incorporating the ChatGPT-powered Bing into both Windows and the Edge browser.
But for users who rely on Cortana on Windows, get ready to bid adieu. The support document suggests Microsoft is preparing to pull functionality for the Cortana app, which can be found in the Start menu as a built-in feature. It didn't specify an exact date for the shutdown; Microsoft declined to offer further comment.
Microsoft originally debuted Cortana back in 2014 as a virtual assistant for both smartphones and Windows to help it compete against Apple’s Siri and the Google Assistant. However, the company dropped support for Cortana on iOS and Android back in 2020 when interest in digital assistants died down.
Now Microsoft is ready to dive back into virtual assistant software, this time by tapping OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The technology already powers Microsoft’s new “Copilot” system, which the company is developing for Windows and Microsoft 365 as a way to answer everyday questions and even help you complete work, like writing essays, transcribing meetings, or producing a PowerPoint.
The AI-powered Bing and Copilot are poised to make Cortana irrelevant. Still, Microsoft tells users in the support document: “We know that this change may affect some of the ways you work in Windows, so we want to help you transition smoothly to the new options.”
One such option recommends trying out “Voice access in Windows 11,” which can let a user control their PC using their voice. For other tasks, Microsoft is encouraging users to try Bing Chat or Copilot in Windows and Microsoft 365.
Microsoft also says it isn’t killing Cortana entirely. The voice assistant will still live on through the mobile app for Outlook and in Teams, the company’s messaging and video-conferencing software. But it may only be a matter of time before Cortana completely bites the dust.