Microsoft Corp., wants to make your life easier, and to do so it’s planning to integrate Cortana – the Siri-like digital assistant from Windows Phone – into its next Windows desktop release.

The first rumors that Cortana was already up and running inside Windows 9 came via the website Neowin, and it now says the feature is operational and its performance is improving. The Verge has confirmed the story, and its sources say Cortana gets better and better every couple of weeks. It adds that the plan is for Cortana to be rolled out with Windows 9 in spring 2015.

What’s less clear is the role Cortana will have in Windows 9. Microsoft is apparently still working hard to integrate the feature, and so it probably isn’t even sure itself just yet. However, Neowin says that Cortana is just a “simple app that opens up the personal digital assistant where you can then either type in your question or ask verbally inside a smallish window. It’s not a full-screen experience like you see on Windows Phone”.

So it might be that Microsoft is just toying with the idea for now, but bigger plans could be afoot. In Windows Phone 8.1, Cortana has replaced the built-in search feature entirely and is now the new search hub for the whole OS. What with Microsoft’s plans to integrate its three operating systems (Windows 8, Windows Phone and Windows RT), it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if it tried to make Cortana the go-to guy on desktops as well.

However, Monday also brought news that Apple Inc., might be planning to throw a spanner in the works. As keen as Redmond is to get Cortana running across all platforms, Apple says that it thought of chatty desktops first, and it has the patent to prove it.

Given Apple’s track record of using its patent portfolio to savage its competitors at almost every opportunity, we could soon be in for a fresh round of legal wrangles.

Image credit: Microsoft Corp.