What to do if Windows 10 Cortana “Ask Me Anything” is not Working

We all know that Cortana is one of the most popular features in Windows 10. And without a doubt, it is one of the awesome artificial intelligence-based personal assistants. You can simply access Cortana in Windows 10 on the Start Menu or through the Taskbar.
Recently, several users reported experiencing some issues with the Taskbar search feature or the “Ask Me Anything”. The primary issue according to them is that they were unable to type in the search box. The problem could be caused by several factors which will be discussed along with the options to fix it. Follow the given instructions below and be guided accordingly.
Option #1 – Try to restart Cortana and Windows Explorer

If you’ve only noticed this problem recently, the first thing you have to do is to restart Cortana on your computer. How? Refer to these steps:

Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Look for Cortana under the “Background Processes”.
End Cortana’s process.
After that, look for Windows Explorer, right click on it and select “Restart”.

Try using the search box again in the Taskbar to check if the problem is fixed. If it’s fixed, then the problem could only be temporary and it might not occur again. However, if you’re still unable to type in the search box, continue troubleshooting the problem with the next available options below.
Option #2 – Repair system files using the System File Checker
This option will help you try to fix any corrupted system files using the System File Checker. Aside from that, the SFC could also be used to fix other issues as well.

Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few while before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

The first result indicates that the issue is not caused by some corrupted files in the system, while the second one might get the issue fixed. Lastly, if you got the third result then you should read the log files.
Check if the issues is fixed, if not, then proceed with the next option.
Option #3 – Try to re-register Cortana
Re-registering Cortana might help. To do so, launch an elevated Powershell prompt, copy and paste the following command and then tap Enter.
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Or you could also open the Task Manager > File menu > Run new task and then type in powershell and select Create this task with administrative privileges check box and click OK to open a PowerShell prompt.
Option #4 – Create a new Account

To create a new Account, go to Settings and open Accounts. Create a new user account with similar privileges as your current account. The new account can either be “Local” or “Microsoft Account” or you can just create both and check where the problem actually is. After that, log on to your new account and check if Cortana already works.
Creating a new account and deleting the old one is obviously one of the best options. But before you delete the old account and create a new one, you need to create a backup for all your user data with administrator privileges. Afterwards, you can use the same Microsoft Account to connect it with your newly created account.
You can use the built-in Windows 10 backup functionality to efficiently backup all your user data or you could also use a third party backup software if you want to.
For other computer problems, such as corrupted registries or slow PC performance, you can try a one-click solution in the form of PC Cleaner Pro. This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system.
Perform a full system scan using PC Cleaner Pro. To do so, follow the instructions below.

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
Type in explorer http://www.fixmypcfree.com/install/pccleanerpro

A single space must be in between explorer and http. Click OK.

A dialog box will be displayed by Internet Explorer. Click Run to begin downloading PC Cleaner Pro. Installation will start automatically once download is done.