Amazon and Microsoft announced that Alexa, Amazon’s AI personal assistant, will soon be able to communicate with Cortana, the personal assistant for Windows 10, and vice versa. Users of Amazon’s Alexa-controlled Echo speaker will be able to turn on their device and say, "Alexa, open Cortana," or turn to their Windows 10 device and say, "Cortana, open Alexa."

Google has announced its plans to launch voice-activated shopping from its artificial intelligence-powered home speaker, which analysts have suggested represents a direct response to the success of Amazon's Alexa.

One of the many exciting announcements made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 5-7, 2017, came from Chinese computer manufacturing company Lenovo, which announced the launch of its new ‘Smart Assistant’ powered by Amazon’s ‘Alexa’. Lenovo is the latest company to join the market for voice-activated devices, and its Smart Assistant comes at a reasonable price.

Having abolished roaming charges in 50 destinations and introduced industry-leading care initiatives like TOBi the chatbot in April, Vodafone UK has made even more improvements that put customers' needs at the heart of its service including new AI digital customer service initiatives.