





The news is also a sign of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the bot ecosystem. Shum said that developing AI language interfaces is critical for the field’s future. In his view, having computers that can engage in chit-chat is important, which is why the company is continuing to build chatbots, like Xiaoice in China and Zo in the U.S.

In addition, Microsoft Research has launched a new project that’s aimed at creating bots to work in health care environments. The Health Bot Project offers a HIPAA-compliant environment for creating intelligent assistants that can help answer questions about health insurance, symptoms, and the location of nearby doctors.

Microsoft is working with partners like Premera Blue Cross and Aurora Healthcare to create bots using the system, and has opened applications for other medical providers to try it out.

The news comes as part of a broader set of AI announcements Microsoft made today, including new features for its Bing search engine, Cortana virtual assistant and Office 365 productivity suite.

Update 15:10 Pacific: This story has been updated with information about the Microsoft Health Bot Project.