Cortana is coming to the Outlook email and calendar app for iOS and Android, according to The Verge. The publication cites sources "familiar with Microsoft's Outlook plans."

Microsoft is reportedly testing a feature internally that would allow users to verbally ask the virtual assistant Cortana to read their emails to them in both iOS and Android. This would be particularly useful for commuters who depend on Outlook for their email and who want to get caught up while driving into work.

Google Assistant does not offer similar functionality with Outlook. Siri, Apple's own digital assistant built into iOS, already does this, but not with the Outlook app. In most cases, you must use Apple's own Mail app to access these kinds of features.

Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has previously described the company's mobile strategy as one in which the Windows experience comes first, but features and experiences can be translated across additional platforms as needed, like iOS and Android. As such, Cortana has previously been available as a standalone app on iOS and Android, and it still is.

If this feature survives the internal testing process, it may graduate to a public test and eventual release. It's not the only Outlook initiative Microsoft is working on, of course; the company is also overhauling the user interface for Outlook on the Mac, to bring it more in line with Mac UX conventions and aesthetics.

Just a few weeks before we learned of this feature, Microsoft placed Javier Soltero in charge of Cortana's development. Soltero had joined the company when it acquired his email startup Acompli. That acquisition led to the Outlook app for iOS and Android, with Soltero leading that project.