Me: "Alexa, ask Siri to open Outlook through Cortana." Alexa: "Sorry, I don't know that."

Yeah okay, that would be a long shot, but it is undeniable we are in a period of breakneck and breakthrough digital transformation, driven by a massive marketplace shift in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning from the usual suspects of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google. Data conspiracy theories aside, the AI devices from these giants do offer the real promise of "what's next" in voice assistant consolidation.

Full Disclosure...

I admit I use voice assistants more than the average bear (nerd alert, hello). I've got more wireless devices connected in my home network than I care to admit, and yes, I have dear friends that shake their heads and smile as I bark out orders in my kitchen, but I actually enjoy chatting it up with Alexa, Siri and their kin.

On one hand, I firmly believe in the utility of voice assistants. I really appreciate the hands-free experience when setting a timer while juggling two or three pans of burning food, or when I'm too sleepy to get out of bed and find the remote. In theory, having more voice-enabled devices should make it more efficient to perform mundane tasks at home, right?

But Here's The But...

On the other hand, there are too many of them right now and certainly more to come as market adoption continues to climb. At home, I have Google Assistant, Alexa, Cortana, and Siri strewn across a variety of devices – and they don’t really get along.

Optimism On The Horizon.

There is a glimmer of hope since Microsoft and Amazon announced a partnership last year that would allow you to summon Alexa from Cortana and vice versa. The feature has yet to roll out, but it’s at least a step towards a future where voice assistants would be able to share data with one another.

Questionable Motives?

Granted, it was a mutually beneficial deal for Microsoft and Amazon. By letting Cortana summon Alexa, Microsoft would gain the thousands of integrations. And with the help of Cortana, Amazon builds on Alexa’s weaker areas like Outlook integration while holding off Google’s increasing competitive pressure.

Dare To Dream!

Many predict (and yes, I hope) that someday a device’s main assistant will be smart enough to route requests to the best assistant for the task, without additional input from the user. That just makes sense AND would open the door to the workplace next. It’s unfortunate that right now, assistants are smart enough to interact with so many mundane devices, yet are incapable of basic communication with each other. Hey Siri, if you want to stay my favorite, get to work!