By Jay Greene 

You can ask the latest desktop version of Cortana, Microsoft Corp.'s digital assistant, to find the nearest Pizza Hut -- but don't expect it to use any search engine but Microsoft Bing or present the results in any browser but Microsoft Edge.

Cortana no longer can use non-Microsoft browsers or search engines in fulfilling user requests on Windows 10, the software giant said in a blog post Thursday. The restrictions are reminiscent of earlier company moves that once led the U.S. Department of Justice to sue Microsoft for violating antitrust violations.

Cortana uses Bing and Edge by default. However, browser extensions offered by third parties have allowed users to force the Windows 10 version of Cortana to use the browser or search engine of their choice. In addition, Alphabet Inc's Chrome browser and Mozilla Foundation's Firefox search engines let users bypass Edge and Bing.

An update of Windows 10 released Thursday locked in Cortana's default choices.

"Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana," Ryan Gavin, the general manager of search and Cortana, wrote in the blog post. "The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable."

Cortana offers a better user experience when used with Edge and Bing, the company said. For instance, a search for "Pizza Hut" in the Cortana box displays not only the food vendor's website but also the nearest locations. A search for "Best Buy" in the Cortana box yields not only the electronics retailer's website but also discount coupons for items it sells.

Microsoft can't deliver such extra features "if Cortana can't depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser," Mr. Gavin wrote.

Tying Edge and Bing to Cortana could disadvantage Microsoft's rivals in browsing and search, most notably Google and Mozilla Foundation's Firefox. Google recently added to Chrome a feature that lets users redirect Windows 10 desktop searches, including those from Cortana, to Google. Firefox, too, has a feature that shunts Cortana's Bing searches to another search engine. Microsoft's update disabled those features.

Google declined to comment. Officials from Mozilla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Similar workarounds have been available in the form of browser extension software. Theo Browne, a junior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, created one such program, Chrometana. The Windows 10 update disabled that, too.

"I'm outraged that Microsoft can act this way without blowback," Mr. Browne said.

He compared the decision to restrict Cortana to Microsoft's services to moves the company made in the 1990s, when it first bundled its Internet Explorer browser into Windows and crushed the upstart Netscape Navigator browser. In 2000, a federal judge ruled that Microsoft was a predatory monopolist that violated antitrust laws.

Microsoft ultimately settled the dispute, which included a consent decree that, in part, barred the company from retaliating against PC makers that installed non-Microsoft programs. The consent decree expired in 2011.

Much has changed since then. Microsoft is battling rivals that have at least as much market firepower in the emerging market of virtual assistants. Google can use its dominant search engine to bolster Google Now. At the same time, Apple has put Siri in the palms of iPhone users. Google Now and Siri, which predate Cortana, rely solely on their company's browser.

Such differences in the marketplace may trump concerns about Microsoft's monopoly status.

"The mere fact that there is a new kid on the block with a lot of horsepower is not enough" to conclude that Microsoft's actions are anticompetitive, said Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. "This is more a fight among giants rather than Microsoft going against Netscape."

While Windows remains the dominant operating system for personal computers, Google and Apple dominate in operating systems for mobile devices. That is why Microsoft offered versions of Cortana for Google's Android and Apple's iOS last fall. But even on those devices, Cortana uses Bing to answer queries.

Write to Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2016 18:44 ET (22:44 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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