RIP Cortana: Microsoft officially ends support for Cortana in Windows

A couple of weeks ago during their Microsoft Build event, the Redmond-based giant revealed Windows Copilot, an AI-powered personal assistant that would help users be more productive when using their Windows 11 PC. Copilot looked and sounded pretty much like everything Microsoft wished Cortana could’ve been when they first launched it, and seemed set to replace Cortana altogether as even though they had not formally announced it, Cortana was slowly being phased out of Windows 11 already.

That being said, Microsoft has now officially announced the end for Cortana. In a new support page on the Microsoft website, they state that they will be making a couple of changes to Windows that will see the end of support for Cortana in Windows as a standalone app starting some time in late 2023.

“Starting in late 2023, we will no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app… This change only impacts Cortana in Windows, and your productivity assistant, Cortana, will continue to be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms,” – Microsoft

Microsoft was also quick to point out that despite Cortana no longer being supported in Windows, they still offer a plethora of powerful productivity features in Windows and Edge with increased AI capabilities. As such, instead of clicking on Cortana to launch the app, they’re encouraging you to check out their other tools such as voice access in Windows 11 that lets you control your PC and write text using your voice. The new Bing also lets you ask complex questions and get AI-generated answers, which Microsoft claims will provide succinct answers from multiple trusted sources. And of course, there’s also Windows Copilot, which is coming to Windows 11 preview builds later this month.

Having first been introduced by Microsoft back in April of 2014, Cortana has always been seen as the worst among Big Tech’s numerous ‘assistants’, such as Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri and Amazon Alexa. This latest move to end Cortana in Windows though should be seen as no surprise, considering that they’ve now launched Windows Copilot, the ‘new and improved’ AI-powered personal assistant. It’s also just the latest change to Cortana in the last couple of years that saw Microsoft pivot away from it, with the tech giant previously ending support for Cortana for mobile back in 2021.