Technology

Microsoft, Amazon join hands to integrate their voice assistants

In an interesting yet impressive move, Amazon and Microsoft have decided to integrate their Al based digital voice assistants, Alexa and Cortana. Both the devices will soon be able to communicate and complement each other in harmony. The integration will help both companies to expand and users will be able to use functionalities of both voice assistants.

Cortana and Alexa both have unique and distinctive features i.e Cortana is integrated with Suite office— meaning its users can book a meeting, set reminders, and view upcoming calendars etc. With the integration, Alexa users can use this features of Cortana. Similarly, Alexa gives its users to fully and easily control smart home products, it means that Cortana users will soon be able to use this ability to control smart home products. Moreover, it will also give Cortana users the liberty to order things from Amazon. Amazing isn’t it?

It is expected that this iconic integration will be done later this year. However, no official statement has been issued from concerned parties regarding the exact date of integration.

CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella said, “The world is big and so multifaceted. There are going to be multiple successful intelligent agents, each with access to different sets of data and with different specialized skill areas. Together, their strengths will complement each other and provide customers with a richer and even more helpful experience. It’s great for Echo owners to get easy access to Cortana.”

Furthermore, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a tweet: “Alexa has made a new friend.”

It will be interesting to see how Apple and Google react to this integration news as both these tech companies also offer voice assistants to their users.

Via: Business Insider, Featured Image Source: i2.cdn.turner