Users can now connect their Gmail account to Microsoft’s Cortana on Windows 10. This means that users can access their e-mails, contacts and their Google Calendar data through the digital assistant. At the moment, the function isn’t live for Android and iOS.
To setup the new feature, you will need to head to the Cortana Notebook section from your Windows 10 search bar. Later, use the 'Add a Service' option (in "Connected Services") to add Gmail. Then, you will be prompted in a separate window to sign into your Gmail account and provide permission for Cortana to access and manage your email, Google Drive files, contacts, and calendars.
Along with the standard Cortana access on PCs, connecting to Gmail will also give Harman Kardon Invoke users access to information, such as multiple calendars on the device. At the moment, Cortana already has several other connected services like Knowmail, LinkedIn, and Outlook.
In October this year, Microsoft integrated its Cortana intelligent assistant into the Skype messaging platform. The aim was to improve user experiences and provide quick responses to specific needs.
The roll-out sees the arrival of a new tab in Skype where users can chat directly to Cortana, which fulfils its usual role of intelligent virtual assistant. In other words, Cortana can provide all kinds of practical and in-context information, such as weather forecasts, travel information and directions, movie times, nearby restaurants, etc.
Here, Cortana is presented as a new contact for Skype users to interact with directly. Plus, Cortana can also intervene in any conversation. The assistant can, for example, add upcoming meetings or events to the smartphone calendar and even set alerts. The aim is for users to have the most natural possible relationship with Cortana, and to chat to the assistant like any other friend or member of the family.
