“Are you there, Cortana? It’s me, Alexa.”
Tyler Lizenby/CNETAmazon’s Alexa and Microsoft‘s Cortana are personal assistants you can talk to, and now they’re going one better: They’re talking to each other.
If you use Windows for work but you also have an Amazon Echo, you’ll soon be able turn to your Echo and say, “Alexa, open Cortana.” That’ll give you access to your Windows and Office 365 stuff like calendars, email and reminders through your Echo.
Or if you favor Microsoft computers but want Alexa to control your smart home, you can say to your Windows 10 device, “Cortana, open Alexa.” You’ll then be able to control your smart home, shop on Amazon or use Alexa’s many third party skills via your Windows device.
According to the joint statement from MIcrosoft and Amazon on Wednesday, Alexa and Cortana will begin talking to each other “later this year.”
Voice computing is viewed as a major new way to interact with devices. But the potential for this trend is so broad that even major tech firms are realizing they can’t develop everything for this new world. That’s likely why this deal came together between these two rival Seattle-area tech giants.
There’s still a race among tech leaders to expand in voice as fast as possible. Besides Alexa and Cortana, there’s Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant and, new to the party, Samsung’s Bixby. A driving force in getting people comfortable with these AI devices has been Amazon, which has been cranking out a variety of Echo speakers and getting Alexa compatibility into a range of third-party devices.
The deal should help Alexa become more useful in the business world, an area Amazon hasn’t focused on for its voice assistant yet. But, with new tools like Amazon Chime, an online meeting and video conferencing service, and the Microsoft partnership, the Echo may someday find its way into more office environments.
Cortana should benefit after its mostly lived in computers and isn’t as strong in smart-home capabilities. Customers should also gain by getting new skills on their existing devices.
Similar partnerships seem less likely between Amazon, the current leader in smart speakers, and Google, Apple and Samsung, which all are either selling or plan to sell rival smart speakers for the home.
Amazon’s devices chief David Limp was actually asked about the potential for such a tie-up at a conference in June. “We’re open to that,” Limp said of voice assistants talking to each other. “I hope there is a day when that happens. I don’t know if I can envision it, but I hope it happens, on behalf of customers.”
The field will likely stay a crowded one.
“There are going to be multiple successful intelligent agents, each with access to different sets of data and with different specialized skill areas,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement. “Together, their strengths will complement each other and provide customers with a richer and even more helpful experience.”
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