OK… I have been looking forward to this feature rolling out for a VERY long time! I apparently have the latest updates to my Outlook client now, as this morning I saw the Insights add-on icon in the Ribbon Bar. To me, this is one of the most valuable uses of machine learning in Office 365 to help you stay on top of your Inbox and Calendar. Here’s what I saw this morning on my first visit to Insights…
In my Ribbon Bar, I found the Insights add-on icon:
When I clicked on it, it opened a panel that displayed the following insights:
For my Outstanding Tasks, it scanned my email looking for phrases that indicated actions that needed to be performed. I can either clear them off as not being a task, or I can mark it as done when I’ve added it.
It also prompts me to consider adding Focus Time on my calendar so that I can block out chunks of time to work on projects without being interrupted with people inviting me to meetings throughout the day:
Finally, I’m able to designate Important People so that I’ll get reminded of tasks and unread emails for those individuals:
I’m sure that as Insights gathers information over time, I’ll get more information and intelligence on how to best manage everything that’s coming at me in my inbox. I’m very excited to play with this new feature!
One Minute Office Magic 