Amazon Alexa and Microsoft Cortana finally work together

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Amazon products can now talk to Cortana for access to Microsoft software, while Windows products can now control smart lights and control music.

A partnership a year in the making, Amazon's Alexa voice assistant (found in its Echo range of speakers) and Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant (found in its Harman Kardon speaker) will now be able to talk to each other.

What this means is the benefits of each assistant - Cortana's access to Outlook email and other Windows 10 processes, and Alexa's access to skills and smart-home assistance - can be blended together.

It's not quite seamless, though: you'll have to tell one assistant to activate the other by saying, for example, "Alexa, open Cortana". On the bright side, you don't have to worry about your data being sent to either company without your knowledge.

"Once you open Cortana, all voice data goes to Microsoft and not Amazon, and once you open Alexa, all voice data goes to Amazon and not Microsoft," Amazon spokeswoman Dawn Brun said in a statement last year, as noted by Cnet.

Adam Smith

Adam was a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?, reviewing consumer gadgets for online and print publication, as well as researching and producing features and advice pieces on new technology in the hi-fi industry. He has since worked for PC Mag as a contributing editor and is now a science and technology reporter for The Independent.