Tip of the Week: Cortana Can Do Even More than You Might Realize

One of the most recognizable names in technology isn’t a person, it’s a virtual assistant: Cortana. While Cortana has been of great use to many users, sometimes that user isn’t actually the person who owns the device and is just someone else in the same room. This can be annoying, but there’s a way to acquaint Cortana with a single user’s voice and listen to them exclusively.

To set this up, you’ll need to access Cortana’s Settings. First, click on the Cortana Icon that appears on the taskbar.

Next, access the settings menu for Cortana by clicking on the gear icon in the Cortana window that appears.

Activate Let Cortana respond to “Hey Cortana” and select Learn how I say “Hey Cortana.”

Once you do so, you will be prompted to recite six phrases so that Cortana can establish how you will say “Hey Cortana.”

After this exercise is completed, go back to Cortana’s settings and confirm that try to respond only to me is selected.

Cortana is now primed to listen to only you and you can now use it for many purposes, including to navigate Windows 10.

Are there any other assistants you use, like Alexa, the Google Assistant, Siri, or Bixby? Which one is your favorite? Tell us why in the comments section!