• Diyan
• On June 5, 2014

Microsoft’s answer to Siri and Google Now will receive updates at least twice a month, according to Cortana’s project manager. Speaking to Engadget, Susan Hendrich revealed that Redmond will throw-in updates for important things every two weeks or more often, which would be possible because Cortana is a server-side project. That means Microsoft will be able to quietly roll out timely updates while users don’t need to download and refresh their Windows Phones every time improvements are added to Cortana Windows Phone digital assistant. In addition to the update schedule, Microsoft will push out updates around significant events and breaking news such as Olympic Games, World tournaments, ect.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is working hard to expand Cortana’s capabilities and global reach. The company plans to release the service in other markets before the end of 2014, starting with the UK and China. A team located in China is currently working on localization and translation, which is not done word by word but personality to personality in accordance with Cortana’s core concept – to be more human and reliable. Hendrich said Cortana’s voice will be different for the overseas versions as each market has specific requirements and preferences.

A main part of Cortana project is the artificial intelligence (AI). Based on a new study revealing that 40% of all users use AI for chit-chatting, Microsoft has pushed a lot of efforts in this area ensuring that the digital assistant will be able to do that. The company has even analyzed real assistants to understand how they perform tasks and interact with their bosses. The same study shows that people prefer more human voice which Microsoft has improved a lot and now Cortana Windows Phone voice assistant sounds less robotic than two months ago.

Source: Engadget