Ko te whanaketanga o Cortana i timata i te tau 2009 i roto i te roopu hua Korero a Microsoft me te kaiwhakahaere matua a Zig Serafin me te Kairangahau Matua a Larry Heck. I whakapumautia e Heck me Serafin te tirohanga, te misioni, me te mahere roa mo te kaiawhina-a-tangata a Microsoft, a ka hangaia e raatau he roopu mohio ki te hanga i nga tauira tuatahi mo Cortana. Ko etahi o nga kairangahau matua i roto i enei mahi tuatahi ko nga kairangahau Rangahau a Microsoft Dilek Hakkani-Tür, Gokhan Tur, Andreas Stolcke, me Malcolm Slaney. Kairangahau rangahau raupaparorohiko Madhu Chinthakunta, me te kaihoahoa wheako kaiwhakamahi a Lisa Stifelman. Hei whakawhanake i te kaiawhina mamati a Cortana, i uiui te roopu ki nga kaiawhina whaiaro a te tangata. I whakaawehia e enei uiui etahi ahuatanga motuhake o Cortana, tae atu ki te "pukapuka" o te kaiawhina. I te timatanga he tohu waehere noa a Cortana, engari i arahina he tono i runga i te Waea Kaiwh
he tono