Microsoft Kills its Cortana App on Home windows 11

Microsoft has killed its standalone Cortana app on Home windows 11. When you have the app put in in your PC, Microsoft has simply launched a brand new replace that can make it show a message explaining that it’s now been deprecated (through Home windows Newest).

Again in June, Microsoft warned that it might cease supporting Cortana as a standalone app in Home windows 11 and Home windows 10 in “late 2023,” however we’re already there. If the Cortana app not works on Home windows 11, Cortana stays obtainable as a “productiveness assistant” in Outlook cellular, Groups cellular, Microsoft Groups shows, and Microsoft Groups rooms.

Cortana first launched on Home windows Telephone 8.1 again in 2014, and Microsoft introduced it to Home windows 10 PCs a 12 months later. Sadly, the voice assistant by no means loved the identical momentum as Alexa or the Google Assistant, and aside from the Harman Kardon Invoke, there was no curiosity from third-party producers to incorporate Cortana of their merchandise.

Lately, Microsoft tried to concentrate on productiveness use instances for Cortana, however the writing was already on the wall. Regardless of the tip of help for Cortana on Home windows, Panos Panay, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer mentioned at CES earlier this 12 months that AI was “going to reinvent the way you do every part on Home windows.” This daring declare is already beginning to materialize with Microsoft’s numerous “Copilot” merchandise constructed with OpenAI’s GPT-4 expertise.

Earlier this 12 months, Microsoft launched a strong different to ChatGPT with its new Bing chatbot, which can also be built-in into the corporate’s Edge browser. Later this 12 months, Home windows 11 model 23H2 must also introduce Home windows Copilot, a brand new AI assistant that must be far more helpful than Cortana ever was. Though you gained’t be capable to speak to the Home windows Copilot as you’ll be able to with voice-based assistants, Cortana too usually fell again to go looking outcomes when it didn’t perceive what customers had been searching for.

Home windows Copilot is presently obtainable in preview with Insiders on the Dev Channel, and Microsoft simply began to roll it out to a subset of Beta Channel testers yesterday. It’s presently a web-based expertise that depends on Microsoft Edge, however there’s nonetheless room for enchancment with the upcoming help for third-party plugins. With Microsoft working with OpenAI on an open customary for plugins, Microsoft ought to keep away from one other Cortana scenario the place all builders are solely constructing abilities for the competing AI assistants from Amazon and Google.