Make Cortana Perform More Automated Tasks with IFTTT Maker for Windows 10

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Cortana is already a powerful virtual assistant app for Windows 10, but you can enhance it even more by using it with a service called IFTTT. So what it IFTTT and how does it work with Cortana? Let’s find out.

IFTTT is an free automation service that works with other services such as Hue lights, Nest, SmartThings, Dropbox, OneDrive and many more. IFTTT stands for If This Then That and basically this service allows you to automate tasks.

If certain conditions are met, you can set IFTTT to perform certain action, for example whenever you post something on your blog IFTTT can post it on Twitter for you, and that’s just the most basic example. You can set your living room lights to dim or turn off depending on your location and time of the day and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There is a IFTTT Maker app for Cortana and this app is designed to work with Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. Using Cortana you can make voice commands that will for example turn the lights on or off in your house, and that’s just one of the possibilities. First you need to set up your Triggers, but once you’re done with that, all that you have do is say to Cortana “Trigger, turn on the lights”.

Although IFTTT Maker for Cortana sounds amazing, there are certain minor issues. For example, Hub service doesn’t have groups for lights, meaning that with IFTTT Maker you’ll just trigger one bulb and not the entire group. Although there are some minor issues IFTTT Maker looks like an amazing app with a lot of potential.

We also have to mention that IFTTT Maker for Cortana is free to use, but it comes with certain ads and limitations in free version. For example, you have a limit on how many commands you can create, and you’ll get a pop-up when Cortana executes IFTTT actions. However, you can easily deal with limitations if you purchase the app for $4.99. As you can see, despite its minor issues and limitations, IFTTT Maker for Cortana is an impressive app.

More about the topics: cortana, windows 10 news