Microsoft has released a new set of intelligent features in Office apps. Building on the Microsoft, and Office narrative of intelligence and machine learnings, the features will help set the stage for additional intelligent Office features to come.
According to the Office Blog, the new set of cloud-powered intelligent services in Office apps were designed to save you time and produce better results. These features help you improve your writing in Word, deliver dynamic presentations in PowerPoint and prioritize the emails that matter most to you in Outlook.
The first feature is Researcher. It makes accessing credible sources and cited content easier. Researcher helps you find and incorporate reliable sources and content for your paper in fewer steps. Right within your Word document you can explore material related to your topic and add it—and its properly-formatted citation—in one click. Researcher uses the Bing Knowledge Graph to pull in the appropriate content from the web and provide structured, safe and credible information.
Editor the new digital writing assistant helps you with the finishing touches by providing an advanced proofing and editing service. Leveraging machine learning and natural language processing—mixed with input from our own team of linguists—Editor makes suggestions to help you improve your writing. Initially, it will help you simplify and streamline written communications by flagging unclear phrases or complex words, such as recommending “most” in place of “the majority of.”
The 3rd feature is Focused Inbox helps you focus on the emails that matter most to you, as it automatically separates your inbox into two tabs. Emails that matter most to you are in the “Focused” tab, while the rest remain easily accessible—but out of the way in the “Other” tab. As you move email in or out of your Focused Inbox, Outlook’s intelligence learns from your behavior to become even more tailored to your priorities going forward. Focused Inbox in Outlook has been enjoyed on iOS and Android but will now be rolling out to Outlook on Windows, Mac and Outlook on the web.
Lastly, Zoom for Powerpoint lets you easily create interactive, non-linear presentations. Zoom lets you captivate your audience with smooth, effortless navigation in and out of any slide or section, starting from a single interactive summary slide. You ca also present your slides in whatever order makes sense based on your audience, without exiting slide show mode and interrupting the flow.
Microsoft pledges to continue building more intelligence into Office apps, as well as expanding the capabilities announced today. These features will definitely make using office simpler and more intuitive.
