Microsoft Teams Rooms and Teams Display solutions are changing, and one of the notable shifts is the deprecation of Cortana voice assistance. Earlier, Microsoft dropped Cortana from Windows as well.
The process of deprecation began on September 15, 2023. In the coming weeks, Cortana voice assistance, including push-to-talk and wake word detection, will no longer be supported on Teams Rooms devices and Teams Displays.
Users cannot utilize Cortana’s push-to-talk or the “Cortana” keyword. However, they can still perform tasks manually through the console or touch screen. It’s worth noting that Certified for Teams intelligent speakers, speakers that have been tested and certified by Microsoft to meet the standards of audio quality, reliability, and security required for Microsoft Teams meetings can still be used for meeting audio and voice transcription purposes.
Cortana’s voice assistance feature will remain available in Microsoft Teams mobile apps for iOS and Android. Currently, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, and Australia users can access Cortana. However, Microsoft plans to expand Cortana’s availability to include other languages and regions in the near future.
With Cortana stepping back, Microsoft Teams Rooms and Teams Displays are adapting to changes and embracing alternative methods for voice-activated tasks. As a result, new AI features are being introduced to enhance the efficiency of meetings.