Why It Matters That Alexa and Cortana Are Going To Work Together

Microsoft and Amazon have announced a truce in the growing AI assistant wars: Alexa

and Cortana are now on speaking terms. Specifically, a user will now be able to access Amazon's Alexa from a Windows 10 device, and Microsoft's Cortana will be available through any of Amazon's Echo products. Conversations between the two digital assistants will begin later this year. So what? Well, allowing the pair to work together effectively doubles the efficiency and functionality of both. It matters because they're good at different things. Cortana has a bent towards organization—booking a meeting or accessing work calendars or reading your work email. Alexa has a focus on shopping and connectivity between various smart devices, as well as a large app library. More specifically, the connection between the two means you could control your computer by voice from an Alexa device, for example. Or perhaps your Amazon Echo could remind you about appointments in your Microsoft Office calendar. And it doesn't require you to turn over your entire life—and all your data—to either platform and its monolithic parent company. In a joint press statement, each company's CEO was similarly effusive about the merger. Says Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft: "Ensuring Cortana is available for our customers everywhere and across any device is a key priority for us. Bringing Cortana's knowledge, Office 365 integration, commitments, and reminders to Alexa is a great step toward that goal." Here's what Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon, had to say: "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." There are two other major players in the world of AI helpers, Google's Assistant and Apple's Siri. There's no word on if either of the two would be interested in joining the multi-platform conversation.

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