Windows 10’s Cortana is coming to Canada, Australia, Japan, and more

Microsoft is detailing its plans to bring Cortana to more countries today. With the launch of Windows 10 on July 29^th, Cortana will initially be available in the US, UK, China, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, but it’s set to expand to other markets soon. Microsoft will start testing Cortana for Windows 10 in Japan, Australia, Canada, and India in the coming months, and Brazil and Mexico later this year.

While it might sound like a slow roll out to each region, Microsoft is taking a careful approach to ensure the company respects local culture alongside specialized information for each country. “In each market, we focus in on certain key attributes that help us find the right voice talent for Cortana,” explains Microsoft’s Marcus Ash. When Microsoft was preparing to launch Cortana in Italy, the company interviewed locals and realized they disliked jokes about Italian scooters, so the company decided to make sure there were no jokes that references scooters in Italy. Likewise, Cortana will bow in the Japanese version to adhere to a more formal culture.

Microsoft will enable Cortana in additional markets through the Windows 10 Insider program, allowing around 5 million testers to access to the additional region support ahead of a broader launch once the languages are ready.