Cortana vs Zoho Zia

2023. Microsoft replaces Cortana with Copilot in Windows



Microsoft is discontinuing its digital assistant Cortana in Windows, considering it as a stepping stone towards the future of AI. Instead of relying on Cortana, users will now turn to a smarter chatbot powered by GPT-4, thanks to Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI. In May, the company also announced integrating this new ChatGPT-based Bing experience directly into Windows 11. During this transitional period, Cortana will still exist in some capacity, but the standalone Windows app will no longer be supported. Nonetheless, users can access Cortana in Outlook mobile, Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams rooms. To fill the void left by Cortana, Microsoft suggests exploring alternatives like Windows 11 voice access for controlling the PC through voice commands, the new AI-powered Bing, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Windows Copilot, which provide centralized AI assistance for Windows users.


2020. Microsoft launches new Cortana features for business users



Cortana might have faced failure as a virtual assistant targeted at consumers, but Microsoft is maintaining its confidence in the platform for business purposes, now rebranded as a "personal productivity assistant" within Microsoft 365. Today, Microsoft unveiled several new Cortana services designed specifically for business users. Among these offerings is the widespread availability of Cortana for the new Microsoft Teams displays, which the company is launching in collaboration with various hardware vendors. These displays can be thought of as dedicated smart screens for Teams, similar to Google Assistant-enabled smart displays, but with a primary focus on meetings. In today's world, it is challenging to introduce a device like this without incorporating a voice assistant, and that's where Cortana comes into play.


2020. Microsoft to sunset Cortana on iOS and Android in pivot to productivity-focused assistant



Microsoft has announced the discontinuation of Cortana on iOS, Android, and Surface Headphones, as the company shifts its focus towards business and enterprise technology rather than consumer offerings. Instead of competing with established leaders in the virtual assistant market, such as Apple, Google, and Amazon, Microsoft will concentrate on integrating Cortana's features into its suite of productivity products, Microsoft 365. This strategic decision reflects Microsoft's commitment to strengthening its presence in the enterprise technology sector, where it has experienced significant growth, while Cortana has faced challenges in keeping up with its competitors.


2020. Microsoft’s Cortana drops consumer skills as it refocuses on business users



With the upcoming release of the next version of Windows 10 in the spring, Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant will undergo significant changes, particularly in terms of its consumer-focused capabilities related to music, connected homes, and third-party skills. As Microsoft stated last year, Cortana is now primarily positioned as a service for business users. The revamped Cortana will prioritize productivity and offer seamless integration with Microsoft's suite of Office tools. Consequently, consumer-oriented services are considered distractions, and Microsoft is ceding that market to competitors like Amazon and Google. Initially, these changes will only affect English-speaking users in the United States, while the rollout of most productivity features for users outside the U.S. will occur in the future.


2019. Zoho’s office suite got virtual assistant



Zoho is set to release a significant update for its primary office suite products, including Zoho Writer, Sheet, Show, and Notebooks. These tools will be enriched with the integration of Zoho's AI assistant, Zia. With this enhancement, users will be able to ask questions related to data in their spreadsheets, and Zia will generate charts and pivot tables as per their queries. Moreover, Zoho has implemented Zia in its document editor and presentation tools, enhancing the grammar and spellchecking capabilities. Additionally, users will now receive a readability score and receive tips for improving their text. In Zoho Notebook, the company's latest note-taking application, Zia will assist users in creating various formats for their note cards based on the content, such as text, photo, audio, checklist, and sketch. This integration of Zia across Zoho's office suite aims to provide users with intelligent assistance and improved productivity in their day-to-day tasks.


2018. Zoho Analytics got AI-powered Assistant



Zoho Analytics now incorporates Zia, an AI-powered intelligent assistant. With Zia, you can effortlessly ask questions in natural language, such as "Provide me with support tickets received this month, categorized by product and region" or "Give me sales data by country and channel." Zia translates these inquiries into complex SQL queries in the backend and suggests multiple relevant reports. You can save the most suitable suggestion directly as a report. Additionally, the new version of Zoho Analytics streamlines data analysis across various applications, enabling the creation of interactive reports and dashboards. It accurately predicts future trends based on historical data. Furthermore, Zoho Analytics introduces seven new connectors for popular business apps. Each connector includes over 100 pre-built reports and KPI dashboards specific to different domains, offering immediate benefits to users.


2018. Zoho Desk adds AI assistant for customer service



Service management software Zoho Desk is introducing new capabilities to enhance agent productivity, streamline cross-functional service processes, and seamlessly integrate customer service with other business functions. One of the notable features is the Voice and Chat Assistant, powered by Zia. Zia assists in reducing the workload on customer service teams by providing voice and chat-based interactions. Customers can engage with Zia to ask questions and receive answers from a knowledge base. Similarly, agents can leverage Zia's assistance to receive response suggestions while assisting customers. Zia intelligently suggests specific sections of relevant knowledge-base articles, enabling agents to easily incorporate them into their responses with a single click, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in customer interactions.


2018. Zoho gets virtual assistant and analytics upgrades



Zoho has introduced several enhancements to its all-in-one cloud app suite, Zoho One, including new analytics capabilities and expanded access to its Zia AI assistant. Initially available exclusively in Zoho's CRM tool, Zia provided sales representatives with data-driven suggestions. Now, Zia's functionality has been extended to all Zoho One apps, enabling users to access contextual information from various sources. For example, Zia can extract data from Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk, the service desk tool, to provide users with insights such as the number of customers in the sales pipeline who have an open support ticket. Customers can now ask Zia questions that span multiple apps and receive responses that may involve Zia's collaboration with multiple Zoho One apps behind the scenes to provide the answer.


2018. Zoho's Zia learned to speak like Cortana


Zoho CRM 2018 has introduced a new update that enhances its AI-powered sales assistant, Zia, by adding voice capabilities. With this update, Zia can now interact with users through both voice commands and chat messages to perform various actions within Zoho CRM. Need to check your schedule for the day? Simply ask Zia. On the move and want to verify if you have enough inventory of a specific product before meeting a customer? Just ask Zia. Want to quickly mark a deal as Closed-Won after a phone call? Let Zia handle it for you. You can engage with Zia using either the voice interface in the Zoho CRM app on your iPhone or Android device, or through the chat bar in Zoho CRM on your desktop web browser. It's worth noting that Microsoft integrated its voice assistant, Cortana, into Dynamics CRM nearly three years ago.


2017. Cortana arrived in Skype



Finally making its debut in Skype, Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana now provides users with in-context assistance during their conversations. Moreover, users can directly message Cortana to ask questions or seek help with various tasks. This move by Microsoft aligns with the trend of integrating AI-based helpers into mobile messaging platforms, as seen with Google Assistant in Google's Allo app and Facebook Messenger's own assistant, "M." Cortana brings a wide range of capabilities to the table, such as suggesting restaurant options, providing movie reviews, suggesting meeting spots, offering factual information, and more. Additionally, Cortana can assist with event scheduling and setting reminders, which seamlessly sync with other Cortana-enabled devices, including Windows 10 PCs. With Cortana's integration, Skype users now have a versatile AI-powered assistant to enhance their messaging experience.