Cortana will soon make suggestions throughout your day

Cortana has come a long way since debuting nearly two years ago. As time goes by, Microsoft's virtual assistant keeps getting smarter, with features like helping you scan emails to keep track of deadlines. It's also expanded its reach to Android and iOS, the two most popular mobile platforms. Now, as part of the upcoming Windows 10 "Anniversary Update," Cortana will start making proactive suggestions throughout the day.

For example, it can offer to order lunch or arrange a taxi pick-up using information from your calendar. Cortana will also be able to automatically add receipts to your expense reports, as well as use a combination of geo-location and historical data to bring up details about the places you've been previously. Marcus Ash, a member of Microsoft's Cortana team, demoed this during the opening-day Build keynote by asking the virtual assistant: "What toy store did I go to last year at Build?"

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Cortana will be available on your lock screen too, letting you access its features without having to unlock your desktop or laptop. Additionally, Microsoft is making it easy to find apps that work well with its smart assistant, thanks to a section in the Windows Store dubbed Cortana Collection. While this should be welcome news to Windows 10 power users, it's worth keeping in mind that Cortana is only a small part of Microsoft's grand strategy for the future of artificial intelligence -- prompts to order lunch are just the beginning.

Get all the news from today's Microsoft Build keynote right here!