Microsoft is integrating its new ChatGPT-powered Bing Chat service into all of its products, and starting this fall, it will be a built-in feature of Windows 11.
As part of this shift, Microsoft is discontinuing its previous attempt at an automated virtual assistant—the standalone Cortana app in Windows 10 and Windows 11 will cease to function this month, with users being directed toward Bing Chat and Windows Copilot instead.
Some users have already reported that the Cortana app has stopped working entirely after an app update. On a PC running a fully up-to-date version of Windows 11 22H2, my Cortana app is still operational, but it displayed a message stating, “Cortana in Windows is going away soon.”
Microsoft has been scaling back its support for Cortana for years, ending support for the iOS and Android versions in early 2021 and removing it from the Windows taskbar in Windows 11 a few months later.
Prior to that, most third-party app integrations had already been removed, with Cortana’s focus shifted entirely to basic productivity tasks and Bing searches.
Cortana originated on Microsoft’s ill-fated Windows Phone platform in the early 2010s, where it functioned similarly to Apple’s Siri and Google Now (and later, Google Assistant): a hands-free way to interact with your phone, designed to anticipate your needs, all delivered through a “cute” and “personable” interface.
Cortana was introduced to desktops with Windows 10 in 2015 and expanded to Android and iOS later that year.
By 2019, the voice assistant was already being gradually deprioritized in new Windows 10 builds.
Microsoft suggests that users who rely on Cortana in Windows consider using the “voice access” accessibility feature in Windows 11, which supports speech-to-text capabilities and limited window management, even when offline.
For now, Microsoft says Cortana will still be available in Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams.
However, these versions of Cortana are also likely to be replaced by new AI-driven features over time. Eventually, Cortana may only exist in its original form as an AI helper in the Halo franchise.
