Microsoft is continuing its march toward refocusing its Cortana digital assistant on productivity scenarios. Today, July 31, Microsoft is going public with dates for phasing out more consumer-focused entertainment and smart-home features via a new Support Article on upcoming changes to Cortana.
Microsoft has been transitioning Cortana from a personal digital assistant similar to Alexa and Google Nest to more of an embedded productivity aide tied into Microsoft 365 for the past few years. And with hands-free/touch-free scenarios becoming more important as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the importance of voice interaction to handle work tasks is only growing.
