An AI voice assistant for Windows
Windows stopped shipping a built-in voice assistant when Cortana was retired. Viola is a voice assistant made for your Windows PC: a wake word, real phone calls, browser tasks, calendar, multi-room music, and smart home.
Why Windows needs its own assistant
The phone-and-speaker assistants get most of the attention, but the computer where people do real work has been left without one. Microsoft retired Cortana, so a modern Windows PC ships with no first-party voice assistant. Meanwhile Alexa is built around Echo speakers, Siri is Apple only, and Google Assistant is being folded into Gemini on Android. If you spend your day on a Windows machine, none of those meets you where you already are.
Viola is built for that gap. It installs as a normal Windows desktop app, listens through the microphone you already have, and answers to a wake word. From there it is meant to do the work, not just talk about it: it can research in the browser, manage your calendar, control smart-home devices, play music in every room, and place a real phone call on your behalf.
A voice assistant on a PC can do things a phone or speaker assistant cannot, because the PC is where the browser, the files, and the accounts already live. Viola works from there rather than from a locked-down phone shell, which is why it can carry a full task from a spoken request to a finished result. It is one logged-in account per install, so the assistant learns your setup and your services without spreading your data across someone else's cloud.
What Viola does on Windows
| Capability | What it means on your PC |
|---|---|
| Wake word and voice | Say the wake word and give your request in plain language. Wake detection and voice transcription run locally by default. |
| Real phone calls | Places outbound calls to US numbers, works the phone tree, waits on hold, and hands you a summary. How phone works. |
| Browser tasks | Navigates websites, reads pages, and fills forms, pausing for your approval before a checkout. |
| Calendar | Connect Google Calendar and combine scheduling with browser research and follow-up work. |
| Multi-room music | Play synced audio across rooms by opening a browser on a phone, tablet, laptop, or old computer. How it works. |
| Smart home | Controls devices through your Home Assistant setup when you already run one. |
Download Viola for Windows (free to start)
Local-first, and free to start
Because Viola runs on your PC, it can keep sensitive things on your PC. Voice transcription, memory, API keys, OAuth tokens, payment cards, and browser profiles stay local by default, and the Privacy Ledger documents what leaves the machine, capability by capability. You can run it on managed AI, bring your own API key, or configure a local model such as Ollama for supported local tasks.
| Decision | Viola on Windows |
|---|---|
| Cost | Free tier with a monthly managed usage allowance; stays free with BYOK or a local model. See plans. |
| Hardware | No smart speaker needed; uses the mic and speakers you already have. |
| Requirements | Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. One installer to download and run. |
| Privacy | Local-first by default. Privacy Ledger and Network Flows explain what leaves the device. |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a good voice assistant for Windows?
Windows no longer ships a built-in voice assistant since Cortana was retired. Viola fills that gap: it is an AI voice assistant made for Windows 10 and 11, with a wake word, real phone calls, browser tasks, calendar, multi-room music, and smart home through Home Assistant.
Does Viola have a wake word like Alexa or Hey Siri?
Yes. Viola listens for a wake word and then handles your request by voice. Wake-word detection and voice transcription run locally on your PC by default, so your audio is not sent to the cloud just to hear you.
What can an AI voice assistant on Windows actually do?
Viola plays synced music across rooms, manages your Google Calendar, controls smart home through Home Assistant, does browser research and form-filling with an approval step before checkout, and places real outbound phone calls to US numbers that it works and summarizes for you.
Is there a free AI assistant for Windows?
Yes. Viola is free to use with a monthly managed usage allowance, and it stays free if you bring your own API key or run a local model. Paid plans only raise the usage allowance; features are the same on every plan. See pricing.
What are the Windows requirements for Viola?
Viola runs on Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. You download one installer and run it; there is no smart speaker or extra hardware required to get started.
The assistant your PC never had
If your day happens on a Windows machine, your assistant should live there too. Viola is a voice assistant for Windows that keeps your music, calendar, and smart home, adds real phone calls and browser work, and stays local-first by default.
Download Viola for Windows, see how it works, or compare it with Alexa, Google, and Siri.