It looks like Microsoft is still trying to figure out how to make its virtual assistant Cortana work, with a new Windows 10 update arriving in the future that should give it some more useful skills.

This follows recent moves by the company to make Cortana its own app, rather than being tightly integrated into Windows 10 and its Search tool, as it once was. This led some people to speculate that Microsoft was giving up on Cortana, which had failed to achieve the same level of popularity as competitors like Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa.

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However, as Windows Latest reports, Microsoft is looking to allow Cortana to search your documents across all Windows 10 devices – by speaking in plain English.

It looks like Cortana could also integrate into Outlook better, so you can search for emails and calendar events, and compose emails, using your voice.

You will also once again be able to say “Cortana” to wake up the digital assistant.

Web apps improved

At its Ignite 2020 conference Microsoft also announced that web apps found on the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 will be now powered by the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge.

This will mean they’ll be powered by the Chromium engine, and should mean that web apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store will be faster and offer new features as well.

This is good news, as many apps in the Microsoft Store still feel a bit unloved and undercooked, often missing key features that you’d get if you just used the website.

So, we’re pleased to see that Microsoft isn’t giving up on some of the more unpopular aspects of Windows 10, and is instead looking at ways to make them more useful – and loved. Will it work? Time will tell…

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