The name Cortana usually brings up thoughts of the character from the popular Halo franchise. Almost as well-known as the series' protagonist, Master Chief, Cortana would serve as Chief's guide, helping him access files, open doors, and otherwise help him get to his next checkpoint.

Thanks to a leak of information for the 8.1 update, Microsoft product users might have a chance to be like the well-known Microsoft icon.

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While the update doesn't turn the user into a gun-toting, Covenant-murdering Spartan, the update will come with a feature called zCortana, which Microsoft hopes will overtake Siri and Google Now as the premier handheld virtual assistant. It is being developed for use for Xbox, PC, and Windows Phones. While it hasn't been officially revealed, Cortana is expected to release alongside Update 8.1 near the beginning of 2014.

"Our UI will be deeply personalized, based on the advanced, almost magical, intelligence in our cloud that learns more and more over time about people and the world," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a memo, "Our shell will natively support  all of our essential services, and will be great at responding seamlessly to what people ask for, and even anticipating what they need before they ask for it."

The inclusion of Cortana is meant to provide the user with information and assistance based off of people's needs, using the Cloud and Bing's "Satori" knowledge to determine the user's interests and daily routine. Microsoft hopes it will help make the smartphone war a three-man battle, rather than simply a war between Samsung and Apple. Samsung's and Apple's big announcements earlier in the month probably also led to added pressure for Microsoft to come out with something revolutionary.

If Cortana is able to accomplish what Microsoft says it's planning to, Cortana could help reverse the fortune of the Windows Phone. Even though it also applies to PC and Xbox, Microsoft appears to be doing this in order to boost sales of their phone line, in a time where Apple and Samsung appear to be stepping up their game as well.

 

Reach staff writer Andrew Schultz here or follow him on Twitter.