Microsoft's Cortana may be broadening its horizons this year, as the company is reportedly working on releasing the software for other platforms as well.

For now, Cortana works only on Windows Phone and the latest Windows 10, which is yet to become available to the general public. According to a new report, however, Android and iOS devices may be getting a taste of Cortana as well, as Microsoft is reportedly making efforts in this regards.

The news comes from an exclusive new Reuters report, which cites Microsoft Research managing director Eric Horvitz, as well as some unnamed sources. The report notes that Cortana may launch as a standalone app for other platforms other than Windows Phone and Windows 10. The new version of Cortana will reportedly be more advanced, as it will use research from an artificial intelligence project called "Einstein."

"This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame," explained Horvitz, who is also involved in the Einstein project. 

"Microsoft believes its work on speech recognition, search and machine learning will let it transform its digital assistant into the first intelligent 'agent' which anticipates users needs," Reuters further notes.

It remains unclear when this advanced version of Cortana will become available as a standalone app, but it could happen later this year. Microsoft could make an announcement in the fall, when the latest Windows 10 is set to hit commercial availability. Windows 10 will come with Cortana built-in, marking the first time such a digital assistant becomes available on the desktop.

Digital assistants are apparently gaining ground steadily, and several useful options are already available. Apple has the famous Siri, Android has Google Now, Microsoft has Cortana, and BlackBerry recently introduced its own assistant called simply the BlackBerry Assistant.

Cortana has stirred plenty of interest since its debut on Windows Phone and wider availability on other platforms as a standalone app would surely make it even more successful.

No other details are available at this point regarding Microsoft's plans to release Cortana as a standalone app, but we'll keep you up to date as soon as we learn more..