Outlook Mobile will now read out your emails with Cortana

Microsoft is upgrading Outlook Mobile with new features for business users, the firm announced at Microsoft Ignite today. Dubbed Play My Emails, this feature will read out emails received in the Outlook app in what Microsoft calls a “natural” voice. It’ll be using the technology behind Cortana’s natural speaking capabilities and come with a new male coded voice for users who’d prefer a little something other than Cortana’s default.

“Play My Emails is the first Cortana-related capability aimed at workers and under the umbrella of Office 365 where Cortana has met specific requirements set out in the O365 section of the Microsoft Trust Center and Online Services Terms,” Microsoft said on Monday at Ignite.

With Cortana being slowly relegated to an enterprise feature — playing to its strengths — this is also one of the more concrete and immediately useful features that both businesses and consumers alike will appreciate from Microsoft’s new Cortana.

The new feature will roll out to iOS via an App Store update soon. Play My Emails will also be coming to Android users, albeit aimed at a Spring 2020 release. Like with all things Cortana, it will be US first release.