Cortana gets smarter and now it can remind you to complete tasks automatically. On a new update, Microsoft is enabling “suggested reminders”, a new feature that lets Cortana keep on track by reminding you something you said you would do in an email.
Microsoft is using machine learning to scan and detect commitments you made in your emails to other people, information which the Cortana uses to create automatic reminders.
Thanks to this feature, you’ll no longer be late to send a report at the end of the day you promised to your boss, or forget to purchase movie tickets for date night.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to get Cortana to help you keep your promises on Windows 10.
How to enable and use Cortana suggested reminders
Cortana suggested reminders should be enabled by default on you Windows 10 device, but you can check the settings are correctly configured by doing the following:
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Open Cortana.
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Click on the Cortana’s Notebook icon.
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Click on Permissions.
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Turn on the “Contacts, email, calendar, & communication history” toggle switch.
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On Cortana’s Notebook, click on Connected Services.
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Make sure either a Outlook.com or Office 365 work or school account is connected.
Cortana’s Notebook settings
Once those settings are configured, using Cortana to get suggested reminders is a straightforward process, simply send emails as you would normally do with your commitment, then Cortana will take care of the rest.
For example: Try emailing yourself a commitment like “I will send you the report by Wednesday”.
If you specified a deadline in the email, Cortana will be able to pop a notification before the task is due and save it in Action Center. Suggestions without a deadline will appear in Cortana home.
You’ll also notice some improvements like the ability to link to the email that the reminder is coming from and notifications ahead of a deadline.
Suggested reminders on Cortana is currently available in the United States for Windows 10 users, but Cortana for Android and iOS will get the functionality soon.
On this update, Microsoft is supporting Outlook.com and Office 365 accounts, but again the company is working to expand support to other services, such as Gmail.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].