Cortana is an AI developed from a clone of Doctor Catherine Halsey’s brain in 2549 and has a seven-year lifespan. As an artificial construct, Cortana has no physical form.
Evolution and Decline of Microsoft’s Cortana
Cortana, discontinued now, was a virtual assistant by Microsoft that used the Bing search engine to perform tasks. Recognizing its limited lifespan, Microsoft started reducing Cortana’s prevalence in 2019, eventually removing the mobile app in January 2020 and shutting it down globally on March 31, 2021. Despite being available in multiple languages, Cortana will now pivot to offer productivity assistance in Windows 10, Outlook, and Teams.
Cortana in the Halo Universe
In the fictional universe of Halo, Cortana is still alive at the end of Halo 5, despite betraying Master Chief. 343 Industries suggests Cortana is 8 years old in Halo 4, but likely 11 by the year 2553. A trailer from Halo Infinite indicated she was captured and terminated off-screen by Master Chief.
Microsoft has a new vision for Cortana, aiming to incorporate its popular features into other productivity tools and ensuring users can continue benefiting from voice-assisted services. Cortana can assist users with email, calendar, and tasks and is designed to help professionals manage their work applications more effectively.
To use Cortana, you can click the Windows 10 search box or activate it by pressing the Windows key plus C. Although Cortana’s standalone app is deprecated in Windows, it still works across devices and is part of Microsoft’s ongoing project to enhance its capabilities in more locations.
Troubleshooting and Enabling Cortana
If you need to restore Cortana in Windows 10, you can access the Local Group Policy Editor and enable it there. Should the Cortana search box be missing, it may simply be hidden, as Windows 10 allows the search box to be hidden, displayed as a button, or shown as a full search field.