Take a poll and you’d learn that Cortana is definitely the most powerful, as well as feature-packed AI voice assistant to have on your PC. But, Microsoft knows it still demands some changes to come at par with other voice assistants currently available on the market, especially those capable of seamlessly holding onto a conversation and discoverable with ease.
Thus, according to several reports, the Redmond giant is now planning to launch a completely new conversational UI that might be very similar to the one adopted by Google Assistant. It is also being expected to be paired with a location refresh for Cortana on the desktop, specifically the taskbar. Microsoft sees these two major changes a necessity for an increase in regular interactions with the AI assistant.
Citing sources aware of the developments, Windows Central reports a Google Assistant-like conversational interface is currently in the works. This means asking Cortana to perform any of the tasks will no longer a full-page length reply but instead appear as part of an ongoing conversation. The results will be returned in the form of cards just under your query– be it a question about Trump’s antics or a reminder for Ellen’s special episode.
Cortana already enabled the users to use the keyboard to type the query instead of directly questioning the voice assistant. But, the said query would disappear and results would be displayed in full-screen instead of flowing into the conversation — as it does with Google Assistant on Android.
In addition to the UI refresh, Thurrott has learned that Microsoft may be planning to change the location of Cortana on the taskbar. This means that the company’s voice assistant will jump from its present location next to the start menu button to the system tray — near the clock. This will make Cortana’s search bar interface go away, introducing a slimmed down variant of the assistant. You will not need the search bar because of the conversation UI coming into action in the coming weeks — no definite timeline announced as of yet.
Cortana may have lagged behind but it is still one of the more robust AI-powered voice assistants when compared to its rivals — not Siri. Microsoft is now working on brand new features, as well as extension of the platform to new hardware aveneues. Yesterday, it has bagged an impressive computer vision-powered feature that enables you to automatically add reminders for events using only a picture of the event poster or bookmark of the same in your browser.
