Microsoft is taking a page from Google in building its digital assistant, Cortana. A new update to the Windows 8.1 mobile operating system allows users to just bark "Hey Cortana" at their phones, much like Android users can say "OK Google" to get the system to respond.
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Even though I yell at my iPhone 5S every single day for help, I still have to push a pesky button to get Siri to respond (don't worry, we have a complicated, passionate relationship).
Before, Windows Phone users had to search for the application. Now the feature is always on, ready to predict NFL games and offer other services.
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The new Cortana is expected to come out some time in the fourth quarter along with the Denim update to Windows 8.1. The update is being released alongside a few new Lumia phones from Microsoft-owned Nokia.
Microsoft struggles for a share of the smartphone market, currently weighing in at a distant third place, behind phones running on Google's Android and Apple's iPhones.
Cortana has been successful in the United States (well, as successful as a feature on a Windows Phone feature can be) and is now rolling out in China and the U.K. As the new update drops around the world in the next few months, Cortana will be made available in India, Canada and Australia.
