Microsoft will remove Cortana as a standalone app in Windows 10 and Windows 11 later this year, according to the official announcement on the support page. Another chapter in the death of this digital assistant that never really impressed most Windows customers.

Assistant came in 2014 as an answer to Apple Siri and Google Now, but the Windows Phone/Mobile fiasco marked his fate from the beginning. Like other components of Windows, including the dual interface Modern UI and its applications, it was intended more for use on mobile devices with touch screens and not for standard desktop computers, where very few people use it.

And Cortana was stillborn, although the funeral is done with a dropper. Microsoft separated it from the search service as it was originally in Windows 10 and removed it from the system installer where no one understood its presence. He then canceled the iOS and Android apps and reduces its presence in Windows due to its low usage. In addition, those who wanted to use a digital assistant on their computer could opt for Alexa, more widespread, with more skills and technically better than Microsoft’s development.

Goodbye Cortana

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admitted a few months ago that virtual assistants like Cortana were a dead end. He even stated this in an interview with the Financial Times “everyone was dumb as a rock” and especially with Cortana it was devastating: “we had a product that was supposed to be a new information processing interface that didn’t work”.

It is logical to drain the ballast. Microsoft will stop supporting Cortana on Windows, but says its technology will continue to be available as a productivity assistant in apps like Outlook and Teams. In each case we don’t think it will be for long because the Redmond firm has a replacement ready with several tools where the artificial intelligence support it promotes in all its software will be highlighted.

The most important is Windows Copilot, a new interface presented at the BUILD conference, which is in charge of controlling the operating system and applications, and which is supposed to offer more options for using all the functions of the system and maximum customization of its configuration. .

The co-pilot will not be alone and will join him Windows 11 voice access which allows you to control your PC with your voice and for a new powered experience ChatGPT AI in Bing search engine, which allows you to ask questions and get answers using natural language. And finally here we are Microsoft 365 Copilotother apps that use artificial intelligence to create, edit, and share content in Microsoft apps and services, including calendar appointments, documents, and email messages.

We’ll see how Microsoft integrates all these tools into Windows. As for Cortana… rest in peace.