Although Microsoft managed to beat Google to the punch by following Apple and Amazon’s suit with the launch of its very own virtual assistant way back in 2014, Cortana never achieved Siri or Alexa’s levels of mainstream popularity and widespread adoption on devices as diverse as mobile phones, computers, and smart speakers.
Of course, we’re pretty sure a very small number of users will actually be impacted by this completely predictable and almost overdue shutdown, but at the same time, some people who may have believed in Cortana’s skills and potential early on are likely to feel sad nevertheless that the inevitable is happening.