Microsoft is planning to expand Cortana so that it can carry out more tasks, including booking restaurants or hotels, or arranging travel. The upcoming expansion for the digital assistant will allow it to have access to users’ emails, in order to keep track of more details that will help them to organize their lives better.
The new Windows 10 update will allow Cortana to scan through users’ messages and if there are important dates or deadlines, the digital assistant will make sure that the users will not forget about them. For example, if users need to send a Word or Excel document to their bosses or other colleagues, by a certain time, Cortana will show a reminder as the date approaches.
Besides reminding users to send documents, Cortana will also tell users to buy tickets to concerts, or all kinds of events, so that “nothing slips through the cracks”. The new all-new machine learning technology developed by Microsoft will help Cortana to accurately recognize when users make a commitment in their messages. And if users don’t see alerts popping up, they can check them later in the Windows 10 Action Centre, where they have the options to snooze them or mark them as complete.
This expansion for Cortana that’s currently rolling out to Windows 10 will be available to Android and iOS users in the coming weeks. In order to take advantage of this functionality, users will need to create an Outlook.com email address or Office 365 account, then the will open up Cortana and click to view the Notebook view. After that, they will click Connected Services and they will connect to either type of email account.
On phones, Cortana will have the power to turn off user’s computer with a simple voice command. The PC can be also locked, restarted or sent to sleep, but the system volume can be changed as well.
Later this year, Cortana will be available for Nissan and BMW smart vehicles owners. With the help of the digital assistant, drivers will be able to see on the dashboard information on events or reminders.
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