Alexa and Cortana finally team up in limited beta
Microsoft demoed the integration during Build 2018.
Last year, Amazon and Microsoft announced that their digital assistants would soon be able to communicate and work each other. Initially, the companies said users would have access to these more integrated assistants by the end of 2017. That didn't happen, but today during Build 2018, Microsoft gave a demo of how Cortana and Alexa can work in conjunction and it looks like users will get access to these abilities in the near future.
On stage today, Microsoft and Amazon employees demonstrated how Cortana and Alexa can be used together. Asking Alexa to open Cortana gives users access to Microsoft's assistant through Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo. Similarly, by asking Cortana to open Alexa, Amazon's assistant becomes available on more devices, like a PC. With this feature, users with Amazon smart speakers can utilize Cortana's integration with Office Suite while those using Cortana-enabled devices can also take advantage of the tens of thousands of skills that come with Alexa.
Microsoft said that the digital assistant integration is currently only available in a limited beta but those interested can sign up here to receive an alert when it goes live.
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