Microsoft’s Cortana asked 18 billion questions

Microsoft’s Cortana asked 18 billion questions

Microsoft’s virtual assistant, Cortana assists users in varying ways. From reminders, to opening other applications, to informing about health activities or turning on lights in a home. “Hey-Cortana, tell Xbox to turn on”, “Hey-Cortana, remind me to get groceries on Friday at 6pm”. With these and many more other requests, the personal assistant helps users stay productive and save time. 

Latest Microsoft by the numbers details show the virtual assisant has been asked about 18 billions questions since its launch. That’s PC, mobile and IoT devices and across Windows, iOS and Android. Bringing it to several devices, platforms and markets can be a contributor to this growth.

“Cortana, Microsoft’s intelligent assistant, has been asked 18 billion questions since launch”. 

By numbers that will mean:

4,500,000,000 – questions each year.
      375,000,000 – questions each month
     12,500,000 – questions each day 
           5,20,833 – questions every hour
                     9,680 – questions every minute 
                         161 – questions every second 

 

Microsoft continues to innovate how Cortana can help make life of consumers easier whiles saving time. At Build 2017 Microsoft demoed Cortana working with Amazon’s Alexa. A first of virtual assistants integration that Microsoft and Amazon say “offer more choice, value and access“. This collaboration will see Cortana users have their usual experience on an Alexa enabled device and vice versa.

Microsoft also continues to evolve and integrate it’s skills into all of its platforms. Cortana works well in Office 365 and Skype. With Office 365 Microsoft says Cortana helps you “prepare for meetings, learn about the people you work with and remind you where you need to be next so you won’t be late“.

How have you been using Microsoft’s virtual assistant these days?  Still using it or not? Share with us. 

Cortana and Alexa, Two Digital Assistants and Intelligent Friends helping customers do more

Cortana and Alexa, Two Digital Assistants and Intelligent Friends helping customers do more

Microsoft’s Cortana and Alexa of Amazon are Two Digital Assistants turned Intelligent friends helping customers do more  

Cortana and Alexa

Microsoft and Amazon are working together to bring a much richer digital assistant experience to their customers. They are doing this by making both digital assistants, intelligent friends. Taking the strengths of both assistants, interacting with each other and making them available on every device possible.

“In the ambient world,
we believe that assistants will work together each and every day to help us”.

– Megan Saunders, GM Cortana

Microsoft believes the technology of the future is putting people at the center instead of devices. Explaining this as multiple devices interfaced in multiple locations with multiple people using multiple senses.
An example of how this comes together is Cortana and Alexa’s new partnership in enriching lives. Microsoft showcased early stages of this development on stage at Build 2018. Take a look at this demo by Megan Saunders, Cortana GM and Tom Taylor SVP Amazon Alexa in this video.

The Cortana Alexa partnership is still in a beta stage. If you’ll like to try it, Microsoft say visit https://aka.ms/cortana_alexa to be notified when it goes live.

The vision for Microsoft with Cortana is to meet customers wherever they are and no matter the device. Also for developers Microsoft is promising building skills for Cortana and Alexa will enable access to more devices across devices.

Excited about what partnering with other digital Assistants can and might bring or do? Surely it will be interesting to see Cortana, Alexa, Siri, Aura, Google all working together at a point.