Cortana and Alexa just went from being rivals to being besties. Microsoft and Amazon's respective digital assistants are teaming up to work together later this year, the companies surprisingly announced today. That means you'll be able to tap into Alexa's smarts via Cortana on Windows 10 PCs and (further down the line) Microsoft's mobile Cortana apps, or access Cortana via Amazon's Echo devices and Alexa-enabled phones like the HTC U11 and Huawei Mate 9. You'll need to specifically summon the assist, however, by saying "Cortana, open Alexa" or "Alexa, open Cortana." The timing might seem weird with Cortana-powered devices like the Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker launching this fall. But with both digital assistants owning a firm niche--PCs and Office software for Microsoft, smart speakers for Amazon--the collaboration helps them extend their reach without stepping on each other's toes too much.

'Will you talk dirty to me?' Lonely truckers are falling in love with voice assistants like Siri, Cortana and Amazon's Alexa In the 2013 film, Her, a lonely man develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need. The harassment varies widely from some jokey questions asked for fun, to more aggressive and degrading questions. Siri's responses to sexual questions are often humorous Most of the technology firms with virtual assistants have humanised their bots, except for Google's Cortana which remains a machine – albeit with a female voice The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.