A Windows Phone 8.1 update will finally introduce the long-rumored "Cortana." This was leaked by The Verge yesterday. Microsoft's Cortana is supposed to rival Siri as well as Google Now. According to the leaked images, the digital assistant will replace the built-in Bing search.

For video gamers, the name Cortana rings a bell; Cortana is one of the characters in the Halo series. It is a holographic artificial intelligence character. For the digital assistant version, however, Cortana will not be in holographic form, but rather in the form of a circular animated icon. It will do animations while thinking and speaking at the same time.

Just like the other digital assistant Siri, Cortana is expected to also act like a personal secretary to the phone user. Other special features of the phone include saving important information such as location data, personal information, contact addresses, reminders, announcements, and behaviors into a Notebook system. The system also has the ability to track flights and it can also notify users if there is incoming mail or messages.

Currently, the name Cortana is just the moniker name for the brand and it is not yet certain whether Microsoft will push through with it or will decide to change the name. The formal announcement is expected this April via the Build Conference. There are also some reports that Microsoft will roll this service out to gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360 or Xbox One. If this happens, users could ask questions and view results in real-time. Reportedly the voice behind Cortana is the same as the AI's voice in the Halo game, that of Jen Taylor. 

Those who started using Siri and Google Now are looking forward to whether this new technology to be introduced by Microsoft can rival the other 2 digital assistants and provide something new or if it will simply be a copycat.