Microsoft stops Google being used for Cortana searches

[slevin063]

Google does the same thing with Android. Although they don't use a browser, we have no way to change the search tool in "ok google" feature. If some one wants to replace Cortana with some other product and if Windows doesn't allow, that is a problem. Using bing will eventually improve Cortana and Microsoft should be able to do that.

[kllrnohj]

If you tap on a search result in "ok google" it'll launch in your default browser, not necessarily chrome.

The forced launch into Edge is the only kinda suspect thing here. Of course the voice goes through each companies respective search engines, they kinda have to to work unless there's some standard for voice queries I'm not aware of. But forcing it to launch in Edge is questionable since there's nothing special there.

[tehabe]

On Android 6 you can change the app for Assist and voice input to Cortana for example.

You can even turn it off completely.

[cptskippy]

Although they don't use a browser

That's debatable.

Android WebView is a system component powered by Chrome - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and...

[bla2]

You can use a different launcher. Now is just a feature of Google's launcher, right? It doesn't have deep system integration.

[xd1936]

To be fair... You're speaking the words "OK Google", to the Google app. It wouldn't really make a ton of sense for that to be powered by a different search engine.

[ivanca]

I don't believe that's a good analogy unless Cortana is renamed "Bing", because then the user expectation of saying "OK Bing" has a more clear intent about using Bing search engine only.

[Cyph0n]

No, no, Google is infallible. Besides, Microsoft is betraying us after they open sourced several of their most popular libraries and toolkits. They just can't have it both ways. /sarcasm

[TazeTSchnitzel]

In both Google and Microsoft's case this could be considered anti-competitive behaviour. Especially for Microsoft, who control the entire PC market.

[ebbv]

Maybe I'm wrong but I still take the view that defaulting to your own service is fine, but locking it to your own service is bad. Google and Microsoft are both wrong in this case, and you know the old saying your mom taught you; two wrongs don't make a right.

[curt15]

Complaining that Cortana uses Bing is like complaining that Google Now uses Google. What prevents Google from writing a drop-in replacement for Cortana on Windows like how MS can promote Cortana on Android as an alternative to Google Now?

[tehbeard]

Honest question, does such an API to replace Cortana in Windows 10 exist?

Or is it like Internet Explorer, too deeply embedded in the OS to be able to remove?

[TazeTSchnitzel]

> Complaining that Cortana uses Bing is like complaining that Google Now uses Google.

Is it? Apple's Siri lets you choose your search engine.

[ThePaco]

http://chrometana.theo.li/ did it

[CaptSpify]

> Complaining that Cortana uses Bing is like complaining that Google Now uses Google.

And? I hate that Google Now forces you to use Google as well!

[nathanasmith]

> Complaining that Cortana uses Bing is like complaining that Google Now uses Google.

Not really at all. People use Google because it provides superior search results. Bing takes longer to crawl new sites and doesn't crawl them nearly as often as Google does.

[espadrine]

Here is a response from a Microsoft employee:

> […] Edge itself integrates with Cortana and offers various options that other browsers may or may not. Those integrations and options are likely to grow over time. Basically you can think of the search as a single end-to-end transaction in terms of the feature design, meaning that handoff to an undetermined browser or search engine doesn't produce the desired experience for the feature.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/04/cortan...

[ivanca]

Nobody believes that, Google would have helped for free in any integration needed, maybe using a "cortana" chrome extension.

And even if that's false, is still pretty easy to set up the implementation to be generated HTML that works on any modern browser.

The know nobody wants to use Bing, this is just another shady move Microsoft.

[partiallypro]

Amazing that this thread holds Google and Microsoft to different standards. Google Now uses Google's search engine, no opt-out. Cortana now uses Bing's search engine, no opt-out. You can easily have your browser search hijacked by an extension in the browser (on desktops this is easy, on phone OS's not so easy.) So you use Cortana, then you get the search result and suddenly you are on a shady search provider, you get a virus and you blame it on Microsoft.

Sure, I think Microsoft should offer a solution to this that isn't so hamfisted; or is hamfisted but has an opt-out for power users (maybe that requires elevated permissions), but let's not pretend that search hijacking isn't commonplace. Most Windows users are not HackerNews readers or power users.

[gldalmaso]

Great way to tie three products into their lowest common denominator.

User who love Cortana but dislike Bing and Edge, gone.

User who love Cortana and Bing but dislike Edge, gone.

User who love Cortana and Edge but dislike Bing, gone.

[nashashmi]

The death of Cortana.

[ultramancool]

This sounds like a job for Frida. Should be able to replace this pretty easily.

http://www.frida.re/

[heavymark]

It's unfortunate, that with all the big steps Microsoft has taken forward, they quickly back to their old ways at any chance they can get.

[nashashmi]

I don't blame a company for taking out unpredictability. It is what conservative programmers do.

[ChuckMcM]

Not a particular surprising move. Microsoft's CPC for Bing has be going up quarter over quarter and Google's has been going down. Presumably at some point they meet in the middle. But as Bing's have gotten high enough to pay the freight sending more traffic there is all upside for Microsoft.

The reasoning is a bit flimsy though, if you consider Cortana as simply a "hands free typing device" its kind of like restricting your special snowflake keyboard to only your apps.

But with Amazon owning the cloud computing dollars, Facebook consuming a bigger and bigger serving of the Internet Advertising pie, Netflix and Amazon being the place where video streaming makes money, I would expect Google has to feel a bit backed into a corner, and its competitors feeling a bit like they have a way to weaken it further. It feels like another "big shift" in terms of players in the market space.

[FussyZeus]

I can understand as a programmer Bing being used for the more interesting functions, such as tracking packages or finding business hours and that sort of thing (the tasks that never leave the Cortana window) but come on Microsoft, beyond that we both know all you're going is opening a Bing search in the browser and that's NOT complicated at all.

I'm fine with Bing integration for most Cortana functions, but let us choose our own damn browser and our own damn search engine.

[nxzero]

>> Anything else would be a "compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable", he said.

Wow, massive bs.

[bad_user]

But wait, I thought Microsoft changed.

[stinos]

Yes and no I guess. People seem to forget Microsoft consists of 'departments' A/B/C/.../Z. So while A might still be all about proprietary software and B wants to embrace, there's also C open-sourcing tons of interesting stuff on github and sometimes even accepting PRs. C didn't exist a couple of years ago I think. So projecting sentences onto a single Microsoft entity is usually a false generalization. Same goes for a lot of other companies who are active in more than one field.

[sanatgersappa]

yeah, they did. They used to allow it before.

[oldgun]

Not a new thing that everybody wants to create their own little walled garden. It's beautiful inside, but it also strips users of their freedom.

Not sure if it's best for us end users when we are mandated to give up our freedom in the name of 'security' and 'user experience'.

[niutech]

Of course it is very bad to take away our freedom. No for walled gardens!

[Hondor]

I'm rooting for Bing simply because Google search has no real competitors in the west. I'm sure Bing's accuracy and bot coverage/speed will improve with time, while Google might be kind of at the peak. Hopefully in the future search is more of a commodity so businesses aren't at the mercy of a single company's algorithms.

[gottam]

I'm rooting for a competitor that isn't bing. If Microsoft gets any significant market share it could mean yet another monopoly under their belt. They can't even compete directly without having to lock out their competitors.

[amelius]

Time to have a "search-engine ballot screen" in all apps that use search?

In the same vein as:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu

[WayneBro]

Hey Microsoft - when can we have a simple and reliable voice input like Android and iOS?

http://superuser.com/questions/1020549/how-do-i-enable-the-m...

[montibbalt]

I would guess pretty soon since it's part of the W10 Mobile keyboard

[goffley3]

Easy solution, turn off Cortana. Problem solved.

[mhurron]

So Cortana is only good for porn searches now?

[dewiz]

The right answer from Google should be to build a Start menu replacement for Windows. People would love it and that could take out Cortana

[ocdtrekkie]

They effectively did. Windows 8 mode for Chrome would actually put their Chrome apps button where users expected to find the start button, and the X at the top right would close the current Chrome window, but not the whole Chrome application.

I had a lot of people asking me what happened to their computer because they couldn't find their way out of it. It was basically malware.

[kempe]

I usually get better hits when I use google. Wonder what the end result of their change will bring. Perhaps less cortana interest?

[nikkwong]

Sounds like internet explorer 6 all over again.