We already know that Cortana will play a big part in the replacement browser for IE, Spartan, after Microsoft revealed plans for the new browser back in January. Thanks to a recent leak discovered by WinBeta, a Microsoft-focused website, we can now see Spartan in use.

What the video shows only highlights mostly what we already know, that when searching in Spartan Cortana will bring up relevant information in a side bar. We can also see that when highlighting a term you are not familiar with in the text of a particular article, Cortana will pull up information. This could work for organizations, people, food, but it also works as an in-depth dictionary for words you don’t know.

If you highlight a certain business, Cortana will not only bring up information, or photos, but it will also provide you with maps and directions to that business. If Cortana has found something that it thinks is relevant to your search it will also jump around in the search bar. Click on the Cortana symbol, and the information will be pulled up in the sidebar. There is also Cortana integration with the tool bar, so you can type in a query, such as local weather, or flight schedules, and information will be revealed.

Winbeta might be right when it says Spartan working with Cortana is “truly amazing”. The fact you can do so many diverse searches on one page will certainly have a very positive effect of how we use the internet. As Winbeta adds, this is an early build, so we should expect more to come. Microsoft has already said that the next Windows 10 event, possibly to be held sometime at the end of March, will feature Project Spartan.

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