Cortana

Cortana can refer to two widely known things in technology and gaming: a digital assistant developed by Microsoft and an artificial intelligence character in the Halo video game series.

As a digital assistant, Cortana was introduced by Microsoft in 2014 for Windows Phone 8.1 and later expanded to Windows 10 and Xbox devices. Named after the Halo AI, it offered voice-activated interactions, natural language processing, and integration with Bing, along with features such as reminders, calendars, emails, and navigation. It was available on multiple platforms, including early mobile versions for iOS and Android. Over time, Microsoft repositioned Cortana as a productivity-focused assistant tied to Microsoft 365, reducing consumer features and gradually withdrawing many mobile capabilities. In recent Windows releases, Cortana’s role is limited to productivity contexts rather than serving as a broad, general-purpose digital assistant.

In the Halo video game franchise, Cortana is a fictional artificial intelligence created from Dr. Catherine Halsey’s brain. Assigned to the super-soldier Master Chief, Cortana provides tactical data, procedural analysis, and network access, while also forming a significant emotional and storytelling relationship with the protagonist. The character is voiced by Jen Taylor and has been central to the series since the first game.

Cortana, in its two main incarnations, has influenced discussions of AI interfaces in consumer tech and science fiction, illustrating how branding can cross between real-world software and in-game fiction.