In an upcoming update that has been released to Windows 10 Insiders, it seems that Microsoft will be allowing third-party digital assistants to be accessed even from the lock screen. Prior to this, third-party digital assistants could be used with Windows, but only after the user has logged into their PC.
With this change, means that users could technically access their digital assistants from the lock screen of their computers, which in turn could allow them to do all sorts of things such as control their smart home gadgets without having to log into their computers. This saves users a couple of steps in the process and effectively turns Windows 10 computers into a pseudo smart hub of sorts.
At the moment, Amazon is the only company that offers a Windows 10 app for its Alexa digital assistant, but with this change, perhaps it could convince others such as Google to release a similar app themselves.