Microsoft Back at Voice Again?

 Wondered where Cortana had gone.  Would seem in particular Team-like efforts could use smart voice interaction.  Why rename it when you already have name recognition?  Because the recognition was negative? 

Microsoft is Developing a Bing Chatbot Similar to Cortana  By Eric Hal Schwartz

Microsoft Bing will soon have an AI chatbot appear on search results to help users, according to a report from Windows Latest. The chatbot, aptly called “Chat,” appears to perform similarly to how Cortana behaved before Microsoft shifted that voice assistant toward enterprise purposes.

CHAT BING

The Chat agent appears as an option next to the search button after a search is conducted on Bing. The AI will start talking about whatever subject the user mentions. The AI appears to operate with the conceit of pretending to be human, as the test by Windows Latest shows the bot claiming to own a computer. The bot also offers guides and recommendations, including info on new Windows updates. It largely appears to be a more conversational way of communicating the same information that the actual search results reveal. The interactions are reminiscent of how Google Assistant works with Google Search.... " 

Microsoft Going for Nuance

MS has been backing off Cortana, at least for consumer facing applications.  This would be a big major buy of the Siri developer and its patents.  

Microsoft considers acquiring Siri creator Nuance for $16 billion   in AI News  by Ryan Daws

Microsoft is considering acquiring Siri creator Nuance for $16 billion in a deal that’s expected to be announced imminently.

Silicon Valley darling Nuance is one of the world’s most recognisable AI companies for the creation of Siri, the voice assistant that would later go on to become Apple’s first-party solution.

Nuance now focuses its efforts predominantly on enterprise communications, particularly in the healthcare space which has seen increased interest amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Using technology from Nuance, medical staff can reduce their reliance on pen-and-paper and free up more time for improving patient outcomes.

Bloomberg initially reported Microsoft’s interest in Nuance.

Anurag Rana, Senior Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, commented in the report: “This can really help Microsoft accelerate the digitisation of the healthcare industry, which has lagged other sectors such as retail and banking.

“The biggest near-term benefit that I can see is in the area of telehealth, where Nuance transcription product is currently being used with Microsoft Teams.”

Nuance’s shares [NUAN] closed yesterday at $45.58 but Microsoft is reportedly prepared to pay $56 per share – over 20 percent higher. Nuance’s shares have increased pre-market to $54.90 per share, seemingly boosted by the rumours.

Microsoft has all but killed off its Cortana voice assistant for consumer-facing purposes, removing it from the App Store and Play Store earlier this month. Redmond now appears to be pivoting its efforts towards developing AI solutions for specific enterprise areas.

In addition to Nuance’s AI expertise, Microsoft would also be gaining access to the company’s over 3,500 patents.   .... ' 

Last Cortana Speaker is Recalled

 What seemed like a very credible assistant offering, the Harmon Kardan Intent Speaker, which included the Microsoft assistant Cortana, has left the field.  Further indication that Microsoft is not serious in voice assistants?

The only Cortana-powered speaker is about to lose Cortana

Harmon Kardan will disable the assistant on its Invoke speaker by tomorrow.

By S. Dent     @stevetdent  in Engadget  ... "

Microsoft Adds Cortana to Outlook on Android

Been following Microsoft and what they are doing with Cortana.   Had always thought they could do more, but perhaps because of some early and recent problems with chatbot/AI have been very careful.  This is new, an indication of a reemergence of Cortana as a business assistant.  Amazon, too has not been very successful outside of the smart home. Lets see more of it.

Microsoft Adds Cortana to Outlook on Android, Tightens Google and Zoom Connections   By Eric Hal Schwartz in Voicebot.ai

Android device users can now get the Cortana voice assistant to read their emails as part of the latest spate of updates Microsoft is making to its enterprise services. After a major revamp of its Teams service, the tech giant is now finding ways to build connections to rival meeting platforms like Google and Zoom.

AI ENTERPRISE  
Microsoft has been especially busy with its business-focused features this year, expanding the number of ways artificial intelligence, especially the Cortana voice assistant, can enhance user experience. For the latest round of updates, that means getting Cortana to read emails aloud on Android smartphones. Microsoft first added Play My Emails in Outlook to iOS in November, followed by meeting management May, but Android device owners have access to both facets. The feature integrates Cortana, which is no longer an independent app, into Outlook inboxes. The AI responds to voice commands to read emails and compose responses. It’s more than just reading aloud. Cortana can determine when the person emailing the user mentions a time-sensitive issue and will use their calendar to suggest a half-hour meeting whenever there is open time. Cortana can also connect emails to the calendar task list, pulling up a user’s schedule with a voice command. The Android expansion goes hand-in-hand with other Outlook updates for the platform, including the ability to scan emails and files you may need for a meeting and including them in the details of the event on your calendar.

Microsoft’s rapid-fire release of new and updated features aimed at business users are often mixed with highlights of previous releases. It may be simply that Microsoft sees the updates as part of a bigger ecosystem that encompasses earlier announcements and therefore the articles are additive. Parsing the almost daily posts for what’s actually new, however, one gets the impression that the COVID-19 health crisis may have thrown the company’s schedule of updates out of whack.  According to Microsoft, the point of all of the changes are to “help you get back more control of your day, spend less time preparing for meetings, protect your personal time, and organize your calendar to stay balanced.”  ... '

Microsoft Backing from Cortana

Microsoft seems to continue to fall back from having Cortana  as a general assistant.  but has implied they want to tp continue it as a  productivity aid for their business tools.   They are removing it from a number of well known third parties.   Decreasing support for skill development.   Would think they would continue to keep the presence to learn from it.

Microsoft will shut down the Cortana iOS and Android apps in 2021
It will also remove the digital assistant from Harman Kardon Invoke speakers.
Igor Bonifacic, @igorbonifacic    in Engadget

We already knew Cortana’s days as a consumer-facing digital assistant were numbered after Microsoft said earlier this year it would remove the AI from its Android launcher app. But the company has now detailed additional cuts that users are likely to feel more keenly.

The changes won't happen all at once. To start, Microsoft will end support for third-party Cortana skills on September 7th, 2020. In early 2021, Microsoft then plans to discontinue the Cortana apps on iOS and Android, as well as remove the current Cortana functionality the first-generation Surface Headphones feature. Sometime in early 2021, Harman Kardon Invoke speakers will lose access to the digital assistant as well.   ... " 

Teams Improving Capabilities with Cortana, Stadium Seating

Teams adds group meeting features.   More competition putting together useful capabilities for group remote meetings.   Transcripts.    Like to see what kind of assistance Cortana might give,  could be just the thing to get people involved and less annoyed by the experience.   But is it too late already with Zoom and other   players in the field.  First mover is a powerful thing.    Could AI make useful suggestions regarding context of the goals of a meeting?  Or even just record specific to-do agreements as they relate to goals?

Microsoft Teams is getting AI-powered features Together Mode, Dynamic View, suggested replies, and Cortana    By Emil Protalinksi   in VentireBeat

Microsoft today announced the latest slew of features coming to Microsoft Teams for people at work and in education. This batch aims to “make virtual interactions more natural, more engaging, and ultimately, more human.” The majority of the additions are powered by AI, including Together Mode, Dynamic View, Cortana, suggested replies, and speaker attribution and translation for live captions and transcripts. Other new features include video filters, live reactions, chat bubbles, a Reflect messaging extension, Whiteboard updates, a new Tasks app, and support for more participants.... "

Axios also talks this:
Microsoft's plan to make video calls less miserable

By Ina Fried ... 

Microsoft Relaunches Cortana without Alexa

Was initially impressed by the cooperation between Microsoft and Amazon, but admit I saw little from it.  Why not not have a joint effort to provide assistant intelligence?   All I saw was that you could ask Cortana things like "Ask Alexa ... "  but with little new regard for context of the question.  So you then could ask 'universal' things like the weather, wikipedia entries, states of connected systems ... but nothing that showed intelligence beyond the context of the device involved. Not very impressive beyond language processing.   And now MS has disconnected entirely, but promises continued collaboration.  Below a bit dated, but some insight to the state of assistance.

Microsoft launches Cortana app for Windows 10 without Amazon’s Alexa
By Khari Johnson in Venturebeat

Microsoft AI assistant Cortana is getting a dedicated app today for Windows 10 PCs. Unlike Cortana in the Start menu or pinned to the taskbar, the AI assistant can now function in a dedicated space users can resize, move, and interact with like any other PC program. Cortana responding to text commands in a dedicated app can be used to do things like start meetings, create reminders, ask for info from some native Microsoft apps, automatically suggest responses, and respond to questions like “Do I have an email from my boss?”

At launch, Cortana lead Andrew Shuman told VentureBeat the dedicated Cortana app will not respond to Alexa queries. In what may be the largest such partnership in the spirit of a multi-assistant world, Amazon and Microsoft partnered up in August 2018 to make Cortana available via Amazon Echo speakers and Alexa available through Windows 10. Few public steps have taken place since then to advance or deepen the partnership.  .... '

Cortana Going Away

At least as a standalone assistant for the home.  Now linking to their business systems, yet have yet to find it useful there.

Cortana, say goodbye
The digital assistant isn’t entirely going away, but we’re near the end of the road for another me-too technology from Microsoft that nobody really wanted. ... "

By Preston Gralla in Computerworld

Cortana Continues its Dive

More indications that Microsoft does not want to play directly in this consumer space.

Microsoft is killing off its Cortana app for iOS and Android in January
It may live on in the US app stores
By Tom Warren in the Verge

Microsoft has revealed that it’s planning to kill off its Cortana app for iOS and Android in January. The software maker has posted a new support article for Cortana users in the UK, Canada, and Australia that reveals Cortana for iOS and Android is disappearing in at least those markets. Microsoft has also confirmed to The Verge that the Cortana app will disappear in the UK, Australia, Germany, Mexico, China, Spain, Canada, and India on January 31st..... " 

Cortana will Read Emails

Always liked the idea of Assistants reading emails.  Though it clearly has to be selectively, and the selection has to be very easy to do.   Also note I have not heard much about Cortana of late, is it still a viable capability? I have it on my Windows machines, but it has been a long time since I have used it.

Cortana will offer to read your emails in Outlook for iOS
Microsoft is introducing a "masculine" voice option for Cortana, too.
By Nick Summers, @nisummers... "

Where is Cortana Going?

Long time follower of the concept of an 'assistant'.   Have played with Cortana in a number of forms.  TheVerge does a good update below on where it is and they may be going today. Its all about augmentation, now in a number of contexts, including the home an office.  Believe they could do more with stronger office connections. 

Cortana isn’t dead, but it’s no longer an Alexa competitor   By Tom Warren @tomwarren in TheVerge

Cortana started off life as a digital assistant for Windows Phone, before making its way to Windows 10, iOS, and Android. With Windows Phone dead and very few people using Cortana on a PC, Microsoft has made the difficult decision to give up competing with Alexa and Google Assistant. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed earlier this year that the company no longer sees Cortana as a competitor to those other digital assistants, and that it’s embracing the idea of having rivals on its platform. We’re now starting to see how that will work, and what it means for the future of Cortana.  .... "  

Cortana Moving to a Standalone App

Its been losing share for some time, and from my interactions has only been seen as a nuisance within Windows.   Never integrated as an assistant with MS Windows Office functions.  And relatively little outside device integration.   Will it survive here?  More detail at the link.

Microsoft opts to save Cortana by freeing it from Windows
t seems Microsoft is trying a new approach to save Cortana, it’s not-so-popular voice assistant.

Despite the fact that Microsoft’s flagship voice assistant is built-in to Windows 10, Cortana hasn’t been able to share the same level of success as other voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. But that may change with Microsoft’s latest decision. According to The Verge, Microsoft has released a beta version of a standalone Cortana app for Windows 10 PCs via the Microsoft Store ... " 

Assistants for the Workplace

While Alexa continues to add many new but still narrow skills to choose from.  Still want to see more things that will enhance business and home office context.   Cortana and Google assistant are now providing more basic intelligence with the ability to add complex conversational 'turns'.   Like the progress I see there. 

New Cortana and Google Assistant updates highlight workplace potential
Microsoft and Google this week both showcased changes to their digital voice assistants designed to make them more useful in the office. ... 
           
By Matthew Finnegan   Senior Reporter, Computerworld |

Microsoft to Abandon Cortana?

Microsoft may be doing this, but I still think there is a place for Cortana supporting Microsoft's business services.   Should be doing that already, it had earlier experience in the area.    It doesn't yet though, and I am disappointed they have not made more progress.

That might be what Microsoft is contemplating saying to its struggling digital assistant. Cortana, or at least Cortana as we know it today, could end up on the Microsoft scrap pile, next to Windows Phone. To which I say, “Good for you, Microsoft. You just might be starting to learn.”

Cortana, as I said, has been struggling. It hasn’t reached the mobile ubiquity of Apple’s assistant, Siri, or made any headway into the booming market for smart speakers as have Amazon’s Echo and Dot and Google Home. And it likely never will.  ... "

Cortana as a Skill in other Assistants

Good, as opposed to having assistants competing,  have them work together by addressing particular contexts.   Not Sure how this will work with Cortana exactly, would make sense for it to provide assistance for its office suite, will be following

In new consumer push, Microsoft looks to put Cortana into rival voice assistants  By Maria Deutscher in SiliconAngle

Microsoft Corp. is looking to make its Cortana voice assistant available as a native “skill” for Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa and Google Assistant as part of a new push to court consumers.

Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella  shared the plan during a press event earlier this week. His remarks, which were made public today, indicate that Microsoft has more or less given up trying up to compete directly with Alexa and Google Assistant.

It’s not hard to see the reasoning behind the decision. The two services boast a massive a market share advantage over Cortana. According to data from analyst firm Canalys, Amazon’s Alexa powered nearly 75 percent of the roughly 20 million smart speakers that were sold during in third quarter of 2018, while Google Assistant accounted for practically all the rest.

Nadella said that Cortana could extend the services’ capabilities to make them more useful for users.

“Would it be better off, for example, to make Cortana a valuable skill that someone who is using Alexa can call? Or should we try to compete with Alexa? We, quite frankly, decided that we would do the former. Because Cortana needs to be that skill for anyone who is a Microsoft Office 365 subscriber,” Nadella was quoted as saying.  .... " 

Microsoft is Selling Alexas

Just started looking at updated Cortana and how it integrates with Echo. Still minimally.  Makes sense for Cortana to be the ecosystem wing to best support Office solutions. 

Microsoft is selling Amazon Echo speakers in its stores in Engadget
It's continuing to shift away from Cortana as a mainstream assistant.  by Jon Fingas, @jonfingas

Microsoft's deepening relationship with Amazon's Alexa now extends to its stores. WalkingCat and others have noticed that Microsoft is carrying both the new Echo Dot and the regular Echo in its online and retail stores. The company isn't just supporting Alexa, then -- it's encouraging you to buy into Amazon's ecosystem.   ... "

Alexa App on Windows 10

I installed this and it worked well, all the smart home control capabilities work. No harm in installing it, though I don't see using it much.    I don't see that it eliminates Cortana, its still a matter of choice what you use.   Also in the notes below it mentions it cannot control the resident PC, but that will apparently happen soon.   That's when things get interesting, especially if it can work with other Windows Apps. 

Say goodbye to Cortana: An Alexa app is available on all Windows 10 PCs  in DigitalTrends

" ... Unfortunately, only select newer PCs are compatible with hands-free integration which allows for a “Hey, Alexa” phrase to wake the assistant. These include both the Acer Spin 5, HP Pavillion Wave, Acer Aspire 5, and the HP Envy. Everyone else without these PCs can still interact with Alexa manually by starting the app or using a keyboard shortcut.

Alexa on Windows 10 also doesn’t currently allow consumers to directly control their PC, but Amazon notes there are upcoming plans for adding the capabilities in 2019. Additionally, the Alexa Windows 10 app currently doesn’t support video communications or music services like Spotify or Pandora, according to Amazon. .... "

Microsoft Working New Cortana Skills

Been disappointed by the capabilities of Cortana skills in relation to Google and Amazon, especially supporting supporting their office capabilities. Now new enterprise skill Devs Skill set is announced.  Mary Jo Foley writes in ZDNet:

Microsoft tries again to win developers with new Cortana Enterprise Skills Kit
Microsoft is working on a new enterprise-focused skills kit for Cortana, based on its Bot Framework, which can be used to build skills and agents for business use . .... "

By Mary Jo Foley for All About Microsoft

Also supporting docs from Microsoft.

Robots in Skype Need to Augment Meetings

Not normally a user of Skype, but I have some correspondents who use it.   So I revisited the current Skype system as I needed it.    There has been some controversy about recent re-design.   I loaded it up on an older i-Pad and saw they had added a column of available 'robots' you could interact with.  This option did not show up on i-Phone or Windows versions of Skype.

The robots appear to be skills that can be talked to,  perform various actions. I like the general idea, I may want intelligent support for things I do on Skype.   Even participants in conversations I am having on Skype.  I need a meeting set up with Skype.  Say add a particular kind of expert agent, human or AI, to support a domain I am not up to date in.   Perhaps they could solicit those resources from Linkedin?   Office could take notes.  Azure AI could cross reference them.  Perhaps Cortana could act as a go between in negotiating setting it up?

So now that MSFT has Linkedin, Skype, Teams, Office and Cortana, why not integrate the capabilities with these robots.  Based on my quick look at what was being offered the robots were not doing the right level of skill integration.  All the components are there, so why not?    Microsoft, if you want help with designing this, contact me.

Cortana and Alexa are Talking

Always been intrigued by this, and how it would work.   How will the work be handed off?  Just by a choice of their users?   I like to think of this as a conversation between two agents, that could cooperate to provide value.  Look forward to see a clear example, and a look at the future.  Includes video announcement.   And could this also include other Azure based chatbots?    I have both assistants in place, so if they want to test it ....

After a long delay, Amazon’s and Microsoft’s bots are finally talking  By Daniel Terdiman in Wired

Nearly a year ago, Amazon and Microsoft said they had worked out a deal to integrate their two digital assistants, Alexa and Cortana. You’d be able to get your Amazon Echo device to do things like check your Exchange email or set or check calendar appointments, while also being able to use Cortana to get Alexa to do things like turn on the lights, play Jeopardy, place orders on Amazon.com, access Alexa skills, and so on....."