SEATTLE: Taking on Apple Siri and Google Assistant, Microsoft and Amazon have showcased the first-ever coming together of Cortana and Alexa - their two Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered assistants.
The tech giants performed the first such integration between the two intelligent assistants at the "Build 2018" developers' conference here on Monday.
Megan Saunders, Microsoft Cortana General Manager and Tom Taylor, Amazon Alexa Senior Vice President, showcased how Alexa and Cortana would work together in the near future.
"For all of you developers out there building skills, Cortana and Alexa will enable access to more people across more devices. And we can't wait to see what you build," said Saunders.
While Alexa accepted personal requests, Cortana helped with business needs. The integration works with the command: "Alexa, open Cortana."
Cortana will help you send an email or browse through your official assignments while Alexa within the Cortana interface will help you with personal daily chores.
Although Microsoft has not revealed when it will be available for general users, it has called on developers to create more integrated solutions for both the assistants and has launched a website to sign up for more information.
Microsoft and Amazon had announced to integrate their virtual assistants last year.