After stumbling upon an update in the Microsoft Store, I discovered that Cortana, Microsoft’s assistant, has stopped working on Windows 11. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since Cortana hasn’t received any feature updates in the past two years.

Cortana was introduced as Microsoft’s response to Apple’s Siri in 2014. Microsoft even released advertisements that playfully showcased Cortana’s capabilities and took a slight jab at Siri’s robotic speech.

However, with the latest Microsoft Store update, Cortana has been deprecated on Windows 11, rendering the standalone app non-functional. Upon opening the app, users are greeted with an alert stating that Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated, along with a link to Microsoft’s support documentation.

According to the support document, Microsoft is redirecting users towards other AI-powered productivity features integrated into Windows, such as Bing Search and Windows Copilot. The company plans to make changes to Windows that will no longer support Cortana as a standalone app, starting from August 2023.

While Cortana no longer works on Windows 11, it remains functional on Windows 10, which will continue to receive updates until October 2025. However, Microsoft intends to discontinue the app on Windows 10 in the coming weeks.

In recent times, Cortana has been removed from various platforms, including the Microsoft Launcher for Android. However, it will still be available in mobile apps like Outlook, Teams, and Teams rooms.

For users seeking an assistant or copilot for their desktop, Microsoft suggests Windows Copilot, set to debut with the Windows 11 23H2 update. The software maker is also testing first-party and Bing third-party plugins for Windows Copilot, aiming to enhance the Copilot experience.

Other options for accessing a Cortana-like personal assistant experience on Windows include Bing Chat, which can be accessed through Microsoft Edge or even Chrome, and Microsoft 365 Copilot, a tool that utilizes AI to assist users in completing tasks in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

In summary, Microsoft has deprecated Cortana as a standalone app on Windows 11 and intends to discontinue it on Windows 10 as well. Users are encouraged to explore alternative AI-powered features integrated into Windows, such as Bing Search and Windows Copilot, for their productivity needs.