Whoever said Microsoft is bad at advertising? There’s a whole slew of new ads this month which makes sense since Windows 10 is just around the corner. Microsoft’s personal digital assistant, Cortana, is coming to desktops and tablets with Windows 10, and sure enough there’s a new ad to show her off.
The video features things that Cortana does and is set to some pretty catchy music. It sells the benefit of having Cortana on the desktop and across devices very well.
Here are the features highlighted in the ad:
Finding files: You can enter the description of a file into Cortana and she’ll find it for you. In this ad they type in “PowerPoint from December” and results appear directly within Cortana’s box.
Personalized suggestions: Cortana has always been sold as a personal assistant and she tries to be more unique by offering suggestions specifically catered to you.
Set reminders: You can set a reminder on Cortana to keep you on top of your to do list and schedule.
Have reminders follow you across devices: This is a major selling point of Cortana and a large reason why her arrival on Windows 10 desktops and tablets is so exciting. You can set a reminder when you’re at your desk and then have it remind you while you are out and about on your phone. Microsoft also took this as an opportunity to advertise Cortana’s upcoming arrival on iOS and Android devices. Many users have Windows PCs but non Windows Phones. Having her work across platform lines is a big draw for her as an assistant.
Help you be on time: Cortana keeps track of your schedule and calculates when you should leave for your next appointment. She also uses traffic analysis to make sure you have enough time to go.
The ad closes by telling users to upgrade to Windows 10 and reminding them that it’s free.
Many of these features have been on phones for a long time and will be welcomed to other devices. Some though, such as file searching will be more useful on desktops. Cortana is aiming to be a workstation companion that follows you around and works to help you across all of your devices.
Further reading: Cortana, Microsoft, Windows 10
