Microsoft Outlook releases new voice capabilities for mobile

With digital intensity on the rise, Microsoft have been finding innovative ways to keep colleagues connected and enable them to complete tasks more efficiently with Outlook, via their mobile devices. New enhanced voice capabilities in Outlook will allow users to use their voice to schedule meetings, voice requests and compose emails quickly.

Schedule meetings and search for results in Outlook mobile with your voice

The new update in Outlook mobile will use AI to help users locate the correct file, connect with a colleague or manage their calendar. By simply holding down the plus sign icon within Outlook mobile and the microphone icon to “Use Voice”, Cortana will be able to instantly attend to requests.

Whilst the update is great for setting up internal invites, it’s also useful with organising meetings outside of the business. Cortana will use insights from Microsoft Graph to identify how users work with others and who with. The idea is to provide a personalised experience based on the users natural voice. For example, a user can say, “schedule a meeting with Ben to discuss budgeting”, followed by “add Kim”. By doing so, Cortana will pull the right contacts and create the invite. All that’s needed to complete the invite is to say “send it”.

Natural language search

Sometimes we all need a bit of a reminder when it comes to the contents of emails. With the new voice search, it’s easier to find emails and content without needing to depend on key search terms.

Dictation in Outlook mobile

If your business holds a Microsoft 365 license, then users can now make use of Dictation in Outlook mobile. The new function is currently available for iOS, with updates releasing for Android soon.

Users will now also be able to reply or write new emails with their voice on the go with advanced speech-to-text. The latest feature also takes into accounts of names of colleagues, powered by Microsoft Graph, resulting in accuracy when addressing emails to contacts.

Microsoft are constantly researching to find better ways to improve remote and hybrid working across the Microsoft portfolio. With multiple updates and new features having already been released, watch this space for future updates and experiences!

For more information on Outlook and Microsoft 365, get in touch with our cloud experts today.