How to Use and Configure Cortana on Windows 10
The future of personal assistants is here, and it’s all thanks to Microsoft. Cortana can do much more than just search your computer for you- It’s supposed to be a full-fledged personal assistant much like Siri is on Apple iOS devices that are handy when managing devices remotely! Here we’ll take a look at how the setup works so far as well as some features worth checking out right away.
You need to enable privacy settings in order for Cortana to work properly, most notably you have to enable the Privacy setting in “Speech, Inking, & Typing”.
The ability for Cortana to access your location is a big deal, and it’s something you should consider turning back on.
The first time you use Cortana, it will ask for permission to store information about your location. You can say yes or no at this point- if enabled then Microsoft stores all this data in the cloud so they know where we are and what our plans are! This is only necessary once Windows 10 has gotten “to know” us well enough (by sending lots of personal info) If you’re leery of sharing personal information such as calendar events and contacts, speech patterns, and typing history, then Cortana may not be right for you.
What Cortana Can Do
The personal assistant, Cortana can help you with your navigation and sports scores. She will also keep track of the weather when planning a day out in fresh air!
The cool new voice-activated assistant called Cortana can be accessed by clicking the search feature on your taskbar.
You can also change the style of your taskbar by right-clicking on it and selecting from one or more prebuilt options.
A search box is a powerful tool that you can use to quickly find what you’re looking for. It might be hidden by default, but if Cortana has been enabled and set as an active assistant it will still show up in searches even when disabled!
The search box is always on your side. Open it up and let Cortana show you what she’s got in store for the perfect match!
It’s easy to ask to Fathom facts and have the AI perform tasks.
The “Notebook” icon along the left edge allows you to further customize how Cortana delivers information.
Cortana can be customized to address you in a variety of ways, and the user’s favorite locations are customizable.
While Cortana may remind you of Google Now because it presents information in cards, each one is divided into twelve categories.
The tips from Cortana can be disabled or enabled, so you don’t have to see them if it’s not useful for your needs.
Foursquare’s “Eat & Drink” card allows you to receive recommendations from the app, add an atmosphere, and so on.
Cortana is always on your side, and she’s ready to help you get things done. With her reminders feature that can be managed by time or person; plus the option of adding a location as well makes this virtual assistant one step ahead for any task at hand!’
Giving your feedback is easy! You can submit ideas, likes or dislikes to Microsoft as well as include a screenshot if you prefer.
You can customize the functionality of Cortana with Notebook cards. You might not need or want some features, like financial information and travel itineraries – so they’re gone for you!
And then there are other vital settings you can configure, which we’ll talk about in the next section.
Cortana’s Settings
The first thing you can do with Cortana turns it on or off. This will not change your privacy settings, so if you don’t want to use her any longer just select “Off” from the options below and she’ll be gone! You also have an option between Speech Detection & Inking/ typing abilities as well as Location, if you prefer.
(with image)Note also, there’s a link to manage cloud data, which you should probably clear out if you decide to forgo the whole Cortana experience.
When you say “Hey Cortana,” she will react awaiting your next command. You can further configure this to respond best for anyone or just yourself, but in order to do that -Cortana needs to learn about the sound of YOUR voice!
I’m not sure how you feel about this, but Cortana can be configured to detect tracking info such as for flights or presumably packages. You may also want her “pipe up” occasionally in the search box just so she doesn’t leave us alone all day long!
The bottom of the settings page is where you can find even more options for managing your privacy and safety on Bing.
Microsoft is asking you to give up a lot of your personal information so that Cortana can work the way it should. If this isn’t something for which you plan on using her, we heartily encourage disabling or turning off those privacy settings!
The new Cortana is likely to be a something of an paradigm change for the Windows operating system. It gives Microsoft and its competitors like Siri or Ok Google, ways they can compete with each other in terms on Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will most definitely change how many people interact with their computers using it as well!
Windows users may need some time to adjust and Cortana is not likely going be their go-to way of interacting with computers, but it’s definitely filling the gap between touchscreens and mouse pointers. We will see how well she does in fulfilling this usability requirement; so far though there has been no noticeable flaws or problems from what we’ve seen thus far!
Related: How to Use Virtual Desktops in Windows 10