Microsoft To-Do is a useful productivity app which can help you check things off your list and get important tasks done, but it is now getting a key improvement. Previously only available in beta testing with Windows Insiders, it was announced on Friday, January 25, that the app is officially picking up support for Cortana, allowing for you to leverage the Microsoft virtual assistant to manage your reminders, tasks, and more.
With the new integration on Windows 10, you can summon Microsoft’s virtual assistant with “Hey, Cortana” and then have her remind you to work on certain tasks. For instance, you can ask Cortana to remind you to work on a presentation at noon, and the assistant will then add it to your tasks and then notify you once the time has arrived. To see what Microsoft To-Do tasks are being synced with Cortana, you can also visit the planned list or tasks list from within in the Microsoft To-Do app to your find reminders and other tasks.
“Capturing your tasks and reminders just got a whole lot easier. Now, you can capture your tasks with a quick, ‘Hey, Cortana.’ Better yet, your tasks are centralized across Cortana, Outlook Tasks, and Microsoft To-Do — and syncs across all your devices,” Microsoft said.
To set up the integration on Windows 10, you must first head into Cortana, click the notebook icon, and then on Manage Skills. You can then head into Connected Services. Make sure that you’ve connected your Outlook or Office 365 account. Your reminders and lists across Cortana, Microsoft To-Do, and Outlook will then start syncing.
Currently, this integration with Cortana and Microsoft To-Do is only available in English in Australia, India, the U.S., and the U.K. After a previous update introduced deeper integrations with additional lists and Live Tiles in Windows 10, it is still one big step for the productivity app, which not everyone is a fan of. There are still plenty of alternate productivity apps available, including Google Tasks, Todoist, Evernote, and Wunderlist. We have a list of the best productivity apps here, all of which likely help you ensure that you will never forget an important task again.
