In a stunning bit of transparency, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that Cortana will never be competitive with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. So it will instead be recast as a skill for those more popular assistants, as has long been rumored.
“Would it be better off, for example, to make Cortana a valuable skill that someone who is using Alexa can call? Or should we try to compete with Alexa? We, quite frankly, decided that we would do the former,” Mr. Nadella reportedly said at a media day at Microsoft’s Redmond campus to which Thurrott.com was not invited. “Because Cortana needs to be that skill for anyone who is a Microsoft Office 365 subscriber.”
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Microsoft announced that it would integrate Cortana with Amazon Alexa, and it finally enabled the first version of that integration last year. But Nadella confirmed that he wants to work with Google Assistant as well.
“You should also be able to use [Cortana] on Google Assistant,” he also reportedly said. “You should be able to use it on Alexa, just like you use our apps on Android or iOS. So that’s at least how we want to go.”
According to reports, Nadella said that Microsoft saw what was happening in the smart speaker market and realized that it would always be an also-ran, just as it was in smartphones. But this time, the software giant felt that it could still be a major player, just behind the scenes. And that strategy actually makes some sense, if belatedly: Cortana now powers many lower-tier digital assistants, including those from carmaker BMW.
“The challenge is, exactly what would we be able to do in that category that is going to be unique?,” Nadella said of smart speakers.
The challenge, really, is that Microsoft never made any serious effort to compete in this market. And that it let it fall through its fingers years ago, despite repeatedly talking about making the “next wave” after mobile. Ambient computing is the next wave, now the current wave. And whether Nadella’s new approach will work over the long term, and make it a major player in this computing wave, is still very much unclear.
BrianEricFord
<blockquote><em><a href="#397710">In reply to Ulfvar:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Isn’t that like saying Wednesday is the best thing to happen to me since Tuesday?</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#397710">In reply to Ulfvar:</a></em></blockquote><p>Honestly these so called "Assistants" are all junk. I hardly ever see anyone really use them. They are gimmick that some play with then abandon after they realize they can out perform these things doing stuff manually.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#397779">In reply to yaddamaster:</a></em></blockquote><p>I do not get the down votes either. We have a full size Echo and a HomePod. Yes my kids messed with them a lot for about two weeks. </p><p><br></p><p>Now NO ONE uses either of them other than to play music on. The Echo is nothing a but a blue tooth speaker for the iPhone's we use. Since we have Apple Music Siri gets used a little bit more on the Homepod and only to ask it to play music. It is in our basement so guests can ask it to play music.</p><p><br></p><p>Here is a perfect example of not using these so called digital assistants. It is winter, and today is super cold out. Twice today one of us in the family, asked what the temperature is outside. The answer both times came from looking at the weather app on our phones…..vs asking one of these "assistants" to tell us the weather. Why? It is faster to pull up the weather via the app.</p><p><br></p><p>The world of IOT right now is a complete train wreck with no standards and huge security problems. Paul plays with all of this stuff but he has to for his job. </p><p><br></p><p>My family would be irked as heck if I tried setting up all of this stuff. We have a app for our garage door….no one uses it. They will use the keypad on the outside before they use the app. The only IOT device we use on a regular basis is the Nest App.</p>
jumpingjackflash5
<p>Well, Microsoft left mobile, is leaving assistants … what's gonna be the next? Windows? Will they just offer Office, just like you can use it today on MacOS, IOS and Android? Oh ….</p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#397735">In reply to yoshi:</a></em></blockquote><p>No they won't. They will be busy using their Surface Phones :)</p>
Stooks
<p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thurrott.com was not invited"</span></p><p><br></p><p>Maybe that is because of all your OH so postie coverage of Microsoft? Or maybe your love of all things Google?</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#397748">In reply to pecosbob04:</a></em></blockquote><p>Besides the Xbox what Microsoft product does Paul actually like? </p><p><br></p><p>He bashes Windows 10 constantly. Hates Edge…check. Makes fun of the store…check. Admittedly he does not use MS Office anymore because "Word is to feature rich" for his simple writing needs. Ever hear him talk about Outlook….he just love it :)</p><p><br></p><p>He is consumer with consumer wants and needs and Microsoft is 98% a business product provider. Google is more his speed.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#398134">In reply to cadrethree:</a></em></blockquote><p>Windows weekly is nothing but a bash session on Microsoft for at least Paul. At least Leo and Marry Jo are somewhat positive. All three of them seem out of the technical depth at times getting lots of stuff wrong.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#397860">In reply to Winner:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes Paul as a CONSUMER focused "tech lite" tech blogger needed to diversify. </p><p><br></p><p>I could complain about something from all tech providers. I have used/use all of them. </p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft makes some fantastic products that billions of people use everyday. My company moved to Office 365 and Windows 10 two years ago and for the most part users love it. We are completely off of Windows 7. Teams is taking off super fast at my company right now. My wife's business has been on Office 365 for 3 years and it works great for her and her employees. My kids all use Windows 10 for gaming and on their school provided Windows 10 laptops they use Office 365 every day.</p><p><br></p><p>I personally do NOT care for any of these brain dead, easy to trip up, privacy invasion "digital assistants". They all are slow and need mountains of data our data to even begin to be good. I am usually much faster at doing something manually than these things can do. Cortona is a waste of time for Microsoft. If there is ever any kind of laws created around privacy in the US these digital assistants will suffer badly from the lack of data that they freely get every day.</p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#397737">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>Or there is probably a more practical reason like when a company puts together any event they have limited seating so they have make sure that the press invites have the appropriate level of influence in the audience they reach. </p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#397745">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>I am glad you do not either. Keep giving your master Google all of your information. Better you than me….as they say.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><em><a href="#398389">In reply to Greg Green:</a></em></blockquote><p>What do they define as usage? Am I suppose to make 100% with a collection of these? So for me it would be desktop, smartphone and laptop?</p><p><br></p><p>We have a bunch of devices that overlap in many areas. I can use email on all of those except the smart tv/box. To me the best experience for email would be a desktop computer. However it is NOT the most convenient at times.</p>
ragingthunder
<blockquote><em><a href="#397829">In reply to cadrethree:</a></em></blockquote><p>Desktop is still where the primer experience lies. I think the target demographics of the PC hasn't gone anywhere. Enterprises, government, military, education, enthusiasts etc. People who rely on iPads and Androids for their daily computing needs have really only superficial needs – like checking up on the latest gossip or writing an e-mail. Any task that requires raw computing power is still done on the PC – photo/video editing, software development, engineering modelling, audio production, data analytics etc. The PC isn't going anywhere – just because your average Joe prefers his iTab over the PC. And PC is still = Windows.</p>
provision l-3
<p>I think responses to this are a little overblown. People are confusing AI/ML* with the voice they hear when they interact with AI/ML. The voice is just one of the ways you interact Cortana, Google Assistant and Siri (I know less about Alexa and it's interactions). These all are names for broader AI/ML. MS offering up it's AI/ML as a service to another interactive voice doesn't take away from what it does or mean some sort of defeat on the AI/ML front it just means one of the ways you interact with it has changed. I don't see how this approach is any different than what MS already does. </p><p><br></p><p>*Someone is going to point out ML is a subset of AI, I know. They are just often discussed separately when it comes to digital assistants so I included both.</p>
Bats
<p>WOW…what a major, MAJOR defeat. Cortana's new role is going to be an Assistant's Assistant? LOL…seriously? I guess Cortana is going to work like "Mercedes Me" when I want to remotely start my car from anywhere (in the world).</p><p><br></p><p>This reminds me of a low rated TV show's whose time slot is about to be changed from primetime weekdays to Saturday late night. </p><p><br></p><p>Let's face it, …. not one has used use Cortana and no one ever will. That's because it's a dumb AI and it had no chance to succeed, because it's a Microsoft product. Microsoft products just don't succeed because of one simple fact: bad management. They don't know what they are doing at Redmond. The company lost in smartphones; lost in gaming consoles; lost in Augmented Reality; and now (officially) Artificial Intelligence. That's just to name a few! Isn't the company just tired of losing? </p><p><br></p><p>When they lost in smartphones, they develop smartphone apps for Google and Apple. When they lost (not officially) the console wars, they campaign for "open" cross console play for Minecraft and Fortnite. Now…Cortana….is going to be reduced an Assistant's Assistant. You know what's funny? If "Masterchief" is gonna need help with anything, the first thing he's gonna say is either "Hey Google" or "Alexa….."</p><p><br></p><p>So I guess this means, no more further development for Cortana other than Office functionality? LOL…Office? Surprising (#rolleyes #sarcasm). </p><p><br></p><p>I guess that's it? Other than Xbox there are no other Microsoft products that are susceptible to failure. That's because there aren't anymore. With regards to Xbox, Microsoft will fail with that too. It would take a colossal screw up by Sony to ever lose to Microsoft NOW and in the FUTURE. </p><p><br></p><p>So…..does this mean that the Harman Kardon speaker will soon be on sale for $20?</p>
dontbe evil
<p>other websiite titles:</p><p>"<span style="color: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Microsoft wants Cortana to complement, not compete with, Alexa and Google Assistant"</span></p><p><span style="color: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"</span>Microsoft to make Cortana an Alexa skill on other platforms, eyes Google Assistant tie-up"</p><p>thurrot:</p><p>"<strong style="color: rgb(13, 68, 99); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It’s Official: Satya Nadella Confirms Cortana Defeat"</strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ant tie-up </span></p>
dontbe evil
<p> <span style="color: rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">just make a deal with amazon and merge alexa and cortana, you can choose if call it cortana or alexa with their own voice in the settings</span></p>
dontbe evil
<blockquote><em><a href="#398334">In reply to donaselfies:</a></em></blockquote><p>and MS doesn't need amazon, but would be nice for both and for the final users … but keep on the hate flow</p>