Microsoft's Virtual Assistant Cortana and How She Works

Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana isn't exactly a new feature, as she's been on Windows 8 Phone for just over a year. But the company's answer to Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google Now has made the transition to the desktop with Windows 10, taking over the search functionality, while also handling quite a few housekeeping duties.

You can have Cortana trawl through your email and calendar, and keep you notified of any upcoming flights you're taking, or packages you're expecting. She can set reminders and track stocks, and you can even dictate email messages for her to send to your contacts. Cortana can also be set to listen for you to say 'Hey, Cortana,' and can be trained to recognise several different voices.

Ask Cortana "What do I have next week?" and she'll helpfully show you all of the events you've got lined up. (on the desktop, she attempts to search for documents).

But there is a lot more you can do, as all the features from Windows Phone are now in Windows 10. So you can type or ask, 'What’s the weather going to be like this weekend?' and Cortana will display a forecast. You can also say 'Remind me to fill in my tax return tomorrow night' and you’ll get a reminder at the appropriate time.

Reminders go even further, as Cortana can tie them to people and places. So you can also say “Remind me to ask James about that money he owes me” and Cortana will ask whether you want to be reminded at a specific time or place.

For places, you can say 'Remind me to get milk and bread when I get to Tesco' or 'Remind me to water the plants when I get home'.

Cortana will show the top news stories, identify music playing and has a 'Daily Glance' which displays a summary of your meetings, today’s weather, information about your daily commute, sports scores and more.

If you allow it, Cortana can access information from emails, such as flight numbers and warn you if there’s a delay or if there’s heavy traffic on the way to the airport and you need to leave earlier than you might have. If Cortana can’t answer a question directly, it will launch the new Edge browser and display search results.

Finally, Cortana can set alarms, record notes, play specific music, launch apps and give you directions on a map. Cortana works well, and is one of Windows 10’s biggest draws. Learn how to use her many capabilities and you will be more productive in whatever you’re doing.

Note: The free Windows 10 upgrade offer is only available until 29th July 2016.