Tech giant Microsoft recently announced that it is restricting its digital assistant Cortana to use only Bing for search queries and Edge as its default browser. The digital assistant will no longer display results from third-party software like Google, Chrome, Yahoo or Opera.
Microsoft general manager of search marketing Ryan Gavin announced the decision via the company's official blog stating, "To ensure we can deliver the integrated search experience designed for Windows 10, Microsoft Edge will be the only browser that will launch when you search the Cortana box."
He added, "The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser."
While Microsoft pointed some pretty interesting compatibility issues in order to support the latest restriction it is imposing on Cortana, some tech analysts frowned at the decision claiming that this is just one of the company's strategies to push users in using its own services and bar them from employing third-party solutions.
Some analysts said that Microsoft is cashing in on the temptation of ad revenues through this new strategy. The Cortana search box, located in the bottom left corner of Windows 10 desktop, is considered by users and analysts alike as one of the min portals in accessing documents, settings, apps and Internet search results in the latest version of Microsoft's operating system.
Microsoft reiterated that the main reason for the restriction is to maintain the integrity of its Windows 10 experience. Such experience, the company added, will be hampered by incompatibility issues brought about by the use of third-party software. Microsoft said that it had also patched previous workarounds which allow users to view results from Google, Firefox and other third-part search engine and browsers.
According to Information Week, the changes will officially take effect on April 28. Although these changes will be strictly followed, Microsoft said that users will still have the option to change their default browser to Chrome or Firefox, as well as their search engine to a service of their choice.
It is important to note that the changes will only affect queries made on Cortana search box. Microsoft said that the update will not affect the functionality of third-party browsers, as long as the queries are made within those browsers.