Users attempting to track their packages through Cortana are in for a surprise today, as many are receiving a notification that Cortana doesn"t do that anymore. Specifically, it says, "Sorry, Cortana will no longer be able to track packages from your email."
First spotted by Rod Trent, the message appears in all Cortana apps, including on Windows 10, iOS, and Android. It also won"t work on the Harman Kardon Invoke speaker.
Obviously, you can still track your packages by using Alexa. As of a month ago, Cortana and Alexa can talk to each other, so you can use Cortana to ask Alexa about your packages. As it stands right now though, that seems to be the only way to do it.
Of course, it"s also possible that this could just be a bug, or it could be making way for something new, such as a new way of tracking packages through Cortana. We;ve reached out to Microsoft for an official statement regarding this, as the message saying that the service will be discontinued really isn"t a lot to go on.
Update: Microsoft has issued the following statement to Neowin:
As with all our tools and services, we are constantly evaluating and finessing the Cortana experience to offer users the most valuable features and capabilities. For package tracking ease, Outlook will continue to manage your package tracking emails, and create events in your calendar with details. More info on how Outlook tracks packages can be found here and the providers that are supported can be found here.