First video of Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana leaks, shows initial setup, ‘quiet hours’ option, and more

The first video of Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana has leaked, courtesy of UnleashThePhones, running on what appears to be a pre-release build of Windows Phone 8.1. Microsoft describes the tool as “a personal assistant on your phone, ready to help with reminders, suggestions, tasks and lots more.” While YouTube user Yash Maheshwari doesn’t say anything, it’s fairly easy to see what he’s testing based on the responses Cortana displays:

We’ve already seen rumors of what Cortana will be able to do, based on leaked screenshots and industry sources, but this is the first time details have shown up on video. Above you can see the initial setup process for Cortana, including the requirement of a Microsoft account, as well as a “quiet hours” option that ensures whether or not Cortana can bother you (it lets you pick which types of notifications are allowed). Most interesting is probably the fact Microsoft has decided it is best to ask the user a set of questions before Cortana can be useful, unlike Apple’s Siri or even Google Now which asks questions after the fact.

Image Credit: Vernon Chan