Microsoft expands Cortana for the smart home with IFTTT integrations

Today, Microsoft announced that its digital assistant, Cortana, will now work with IFTTT and a number of new smart home devices, such as the Ecobee, Honeywell Lyric, and LIFX. To set them up, just open Cortana on Windows 10 or launch the Cortana app and add the new products under the Connected Home menu.

The IFTTT compatibility helps open Cortana up to a number of new third-party services. Rather than wait for third-party companies to offer new Cortana features, just as they do for Amazon Alexa skills, users can find “recipes” that already exist on IFTTT’s platform and connect them to their Cortana-enabled device.

The update today comes several months after the release of Microsoft’s first Cortana smart speaker, the Harmon Kardon Invoke. The speaker launched last fall for $199, but it’s already seeing a 50 percent price cut as it struggles to compete with other speakers of various shapes and sizes, like Google’s Home line and Amazon’s many Echo devices.