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Microsoft hopes to improve Cortana in third-party apps

The voice assistant might start showing up in more apps.

shelbybown
shelbybown
Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
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  • She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
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Shelby Brown
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Josh Miller/CNET

Despite the significant lead that voice assistants from Google, Apple and Amazon have over Microsoft's offering, Cortana isn't giving up.

A Microsoft patent application published late last month details plans to better incorporate Cortana into third-party apps.

The tech giant said it wants "an extensibility client that exposes an interface and service that enables third-party applications to be integrated with the digital assistant." Though Cortana is available on several third-party apps, the new patent would make it easier for developers to add Cortana features, like voice recognition, text-to-speech and app-specific controls.

Essentially, this would let users control more than just Microsoft apps with Cortana, which could motivate people to use the assistant more. 

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Watch this: This Cortana thermostat does more than meets the eye

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