Virtual assistant Cortana holds people to promises

Microsoft virtual assistant Cortana began holding people to their promises on Thursday. 'Now, Cortana can help you remember things you've said you would do in your emails - without you even having to ask,' partner group program manager Marcus Ash said in a blog post. An update to Cortana -- Microsoft's digital assistant infused with artificial intelligence -- enables it to recognize and make note when people promise in messages to tend to tasks To check the feature out for yourself, make sure you're signed in to Cortana, and have given communications consent. Then check that either an Outlook.com or Office 365 work or school account is connected through the connected services section in your Cortana notebook. Try emailing yourself a commitment like'I will send you the report by Friday' and look out for that suggested reminder from Cortana.