Cortana support for Windows 11 (and 10) to end in late 2023

Microsoft to end support for Cortana in late 2023 as the company prepares for Windows Copilot roll out.

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Cortana drag and resize window
Cortana drag and resize window
  • Microsoft to end Cortana support for Windows later in the year.
  • Cortana will be officially replaced with the Windows Copilot.
  • The support will end on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
  • However, the company will keep the assistant for some of its cloud products.

Microsoft has quietly revealed that it’s ending support for its Cortana digital assistant on Windows 11 and 10. The company has made the announcement on a support page (via XDA), writing it’ll “no longer support Cortana in Windows as a standalone app” starting in late 2023.

The news came out shortly after the company revealed the new Copilot for Windows 11, a new chatbot AI in the Taskbar that’s capable of doing virtually any task like Cortana plus more since the feature uses the new Bing Chat experience powered by the ChatGPT version 4 language model. For example, the Windows Copilot includes the ability to change system settings, text rewrite, content summarization, and get answers on any topic.

Back in 2015, the company rolled out Cortana for Windows 10 as a personal assistant that allowed you to interact with a mouse and keyboard or voice to get answers to simple questions. You were also able to launch programs, set reminders, and manage many aspects of your digital life. Although the technology was promising, it never really became popular among users, partly because of other similar technologies, such as Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant.

As the years went by, Microsoft quietly phased out the feature by removing the integration from the operating system and converting it into an application that’s, until today, installed by default on Windows 11 and 10. However, most people don’t even know it’s there. The company also developed iOS and Android apps, which were discontinued in 2020.

Although the digital assistant is getting discontinued, Microsoft says that Cortana will continue to be available in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms.

In addition to the Windows Copilot, the company is also growing its AI tool portfolio, including the new Copilot for the Microsoft 365 suite of products and Microsoft Edge, and the now-popular Bing Chat AI. While you may be able to access Bing Chat and the Microsoft 365 Copilot using a Windows 10 device, the Windows Copilot will only be available for Windows 11, 12, and higher versions.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.