In response to the inescapable iOS voice command agent Siri, Microsoft has created its own female-voiced assistant. Named Cortana for a character from the popular Halo game series, The Verge has reported how the virtual assistant looks and operates. This software will replace the native Bing search function, with many of the same features that Siri operates, including a personality, internet search, and other normal functions. An important new feature is the ability for Cortana to save data to the Notebook system, which will allow it to access information such as  location data, behaviors, personal information, reminders, and contact information, as well as tracking email mentions to create notification reminders.

Microsoft is expected to release the software at the Build conference later this year.

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What are some features you’d like to see on Cortana?