‘Cortana, Open Alexa,’ Amazon Says. And Microsoft Agrees.
SEATTLE — The crowded pack of voice-controlled digital assistants — Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa
and Microsoft’s Cortana — are good at numerous things.
Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google and nearly every other big tech company is pouring huge amounts of money into making digital assistants
that are smarter and can do more, seeing them as a new way for people to interact naturally with devices and online services.
Someone working with an Alexa device will have to say “Alexa, Open Cortana” followed by their command,
while someone starting with a Cortana machine will have to say “Cortana, Open Alexa.”
The Amazon-Microsoft partnership started in May 2016, when Mr. Bezos raised the idea with Mr.
Nadella at Microsoft’s CEO Summit, an annual event for business leaders in the Seattle area.
