Cortana voice input: the most important voice commands

March 26, 2020

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Microsoft Cortana can do this: voice control and Office help

In addition to Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, Microsoft's language software Cortana has so far been a niche product that is used by some Windows users. The associated Smart Invoke speaker from Harman Kardon is now available in the United States, but far from being the focus of the smart health home community like Amazon Echo or Google health home. Cortana has a lot to offer: The digital assistant is currently installed on Windows Phones and PCs with Windows 10 and not only articulates much more pleasantly than Alexa and Google Assistant together, it is actually a help in everyday office life with Office and Co. We have the most important ones Voice commands for Cortana summarized and the voice input tested extensively with Windows 10.

So what can Cortana do? Microsoft's voice input is not only able to remind you of appointments, make notes or create reminders – it also plays desktop music, composes emails, opens Windows apps and desktop programs like Word, performs simple calculations or queries share prices. By the way, it is quite entertaining: jokes, flippant answers and amazing Easter Eggs seem very personable with Cortana. In the practical Review, we found that Cortana shows neither the exaggerated nature of the Google Assistant nor the wooden pronunciation of Alexa in the daily interaction and is therefore not annoying even after several voice commands. If the voice input for Windows cannot do anything with a command, it forwards the request to the search engine Bing, just like Alexa. The results of the search query are then listed in a separate tab.

This is how Cortana is activated

  1. To activate the voice control for voice input with Windows, the activation word "Hey Cortana" is required. Then the search query is made or the voice command is given.

  2. To wake up the digital assistant for Windows 10, the app must be called up in the menu and either addressed with "Hey Cortana" or woken up by clicking the microphone button.

Set alarms, reminders or notes and manage appointments with Cortana

Cortana is a helpful integration especially for the daily use of the Office package. It can access Outlook, including the address book, appointment function, etc., and thus create or change meetings, replace the alarm clock, note notes, remind you of important things and even set up chains. Memories can be linked to events, for example, then a reminder pops up as soon as a certain person calls – this way the important keyword can be addressed directly. However, this function is designed for the use of Cortana with a Windows Phone. Cortana naturally synchronizes reminders, appointments and wake-up times between all of the user's devices. Possible voice commands are:

  • "Hey Cortana, enter a meeting with (name) at (time, day) in my calendar"

  • "Hey Cortana, postpone my (time, day) meeting to (new time)"

  • "Hey Cortana, what's next?"

  • "Hey Cortana, what meetings / appointments will I have tomorrow?"

  • "Hey Cortana, remember at (time), (doing sth.)"

  • "Hey Cortana, when (name) calls, remember …"

  • "Hey Cortana, wake me up (time) / in (minutes / hours)"

  • "Hey Cortana, set the alarm clock (time)"

  • "Hey Cortana, take a note" (then dictate)

Cortana voice commands for navigation

Like Alexa and Google Assistant, Cortana remembers locations so that you always have an overview and can navigate to a specific location at any time. The language assistant issues city maps of a desired location, surrounding restaurants, shops or stops more or less reliably. Cortana can also display the current location and the way health home. The following voice commands are useful for this:

  • "Hey Cortana, take me health home / show me the way (station / restaurant / location)"

  • "Hey Cortana, how far is it / how long do I need to (station)?"

  • "Hey Cortana, show me a map of (city)"

  • "Hey Cortana, where am I?"

  • "Hey Cortana, is (shop / restaurant / bar) open on weekends?

  • "Hey Cortana, show me the most popular restaurants nearby

Querying the weather using the Cortana voice command

The Windows weather app is easily conjured up by Cortana on the screen – with these voice commands:

  • "Hey Cortana, what's the weather like today?"

  • "Hey Cortana, is it cold outside?"

  • "Hey Cortana, is it raining at the weekend?"

  • "Hey Cortana, is it very warm in Barcelona?"

  • "Hey Cortana, what's the weather forecast for next week?"

  • "Hey Cortana, show me the weather for Paris"

Call the Windows weather app with Cortana to your desktop using a voice command

(Microsoft) 

Voice commands to play music with Cortana

If you have a well-stocked Windows music library, you can play, pause and stop all of the tracks using a voice command. Playlists can also be created and selected by genre or artist, and individual tracks can be added to existing playlists. With these Cortana voice commands, Windows becomes a voice-controlled jukebox:

  • "Hey Cortana, play (artist / song / playlist / album)"

  • "Hey Cortana, put this song on (Name Playlist)"

  • "Hey Cortana, which song is currently playing?"

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Office voice commands: Open Word etc. with Cortana voice input

The Microsoft Office package is Cortana-compatible, so the Word, Excel etc. applications can also be operated by voice command. It works like this:

  • "Hey Cortana, open Word"

  • "Hey Cortana, start PowerPoint"

Cortana opens Office services such as Word when prompted

(Microsoft) 

Activate apps by voice command with Cortana

Not only Windows apps, but also third-party applications can be opened and controlled with Microsoft Cortana using a voice command. However, only a few apps are optimized for the German Cortana version, including Netflix, Groove music playlists, Spotify Music and Fitbit. Cortana commands for these apps include:

  • "Hey Cortana, Netflix looking for Mad Men"

  • "Hey Cortana, open party playlist"

  • "Hey Cortana, Spotify play Helene Fischer"

Funny voice commands for Cortana

Quotes, jokes, stupid questions, little games and one or the other nice conversation are hidden in the huge repertoire of Microsoft's artificial intelligence. Cortana not only sounds friendly, it's also really funny! These funny voice commands should definitely be tested on the Windows 10 PC or Windows Phone:

  • "Hey Cortana, are you stupid?"

  • "Hey Cortana, do you want to marry me?"

  • "Hey Cortana, do you like sandwiches?"

  • "Hey Cortana, how do you like Alexa / Siri / Google / Microsoft / Excel?"

  • "Hey Cortana, can you be Klingon?"

  • "Hey Cortana, scissors, stone, paper (lizard, spock)"

  • "Hey Cortana, you're fired!

  • "Hey Cortana, sing a song / whistle something to me!"

  • "Hey Cortana, do you like beer / Star Wars / cats / iPhone / pizza / men?"

  • "Hey Cortana, what color / music / dishes do you like?"

  • "Hey Cortana, how does a donkey / chicken / tiger / dragon do?"

  • "Hey Cortana, who's your boss?"

  • "Hey Cortana, do you have friends?"

  • "Hey Cortana, how are you feeling?"

  • "Hey Cortana, surprise me!"

  • "Hey Cortana, shut up!"

Jokes and funny Easter eggs can also be found under the Cortana voice commands

(Microsoft) 

Cortana as office voice control hits Alexa with skills

At CES 2018, it was announced that Microsoft's Amazon Alexa will also be integrated into Windows 10 in the future, making Alexa skills accessible to Windows users. At the same time, Cortana can continue to be used as a second assistant and interface with office applications.

Reading tips on Microsoft Cortana

Cortana: The funniest Easter Eggs, jokes and sayingsOverview: Microsoft Cortana-compatible devices and servicesThe 5 most popular voice assistants at a glance

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