Introducing a refreshed design, task chat, and more in Microsoft Planner
We’re excited to announce that a modernized user interface and new features are now rolling out to basic plans in both Planner in Teams and Planner for the web. The updated design offers enhanced navigation, responsive layouts, a new goals view for setting objectives and priorities, and task chat—one of your most requested features—to enable real-time collaboration and @ mentioning team members. This release aims to make planning easier for everyday users while preparing for future AI-powered capabilities. Our goal is to streamline planning by making it more intelligent and connected, so teams can concentrate on achieving results rather than managing tasks. What's new in Planner A refreshed design: With this rollout, users will be able to manage their plans in a cleaner, more modern interface that brings a more consistent planning experience across work. Planner’s new look was designed to feel simpler, allowing users to find what they need. It reduces visual clutter, improves layout and spacing, and creates a more focused workspace. Task chat with @ mentions: A new task chat is coming to basic plans, bringing real-time, threaded conversations directly into tasks, including @ mentions, rich formatting, emojis, and notifications to help keep decisions tied to the specific task at hand. Plan members who are @ mentioned in a task will receive a notification in their Teams Activity feed and via email and can select the notification which takes them directly to the task card for additional context. Note that previously, users received notifications for every task comment, but as a result of customer feedback, we now only send notifications to mentioned users. The ability to @ mention team members directly in a task has been a top request, and we’re excited to roll this out in a familiar, chat-based experience. Please note, premium plans will continue to utilize the existing task conversation experience. This will converge into the new experience at a later point in time. Goals view: Basic plans will now include a dedicated Goals view, allowing teams to set clear, well-defined objectives to help prioritize work. By connecting tasks to shared goals, teams achieve greater alignment, gain clarity on priorities, and track progress and outcomes—driving the plan forward together. Access to Goals view in basic plans requires either a Planner premium license or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Notes on availability Please note that not all users will see the new Planner interface at the same time. This refreshed interface, along with Task chat and Goals view, begins rolling out to basic plans today and will continue to roll out over the coming weeks. This is only the beginning This redesign lays the groundwork for many more improvements coming to Planner in the next few weeks and months, including: Project Manager agent in basic plans – to help with task execution and the creation of status reports. Custom templates. Planner in Outlook. Stay tuned for announcements regarding these updates and more aligned to our long-term vision for integrated work management. Feature availability, naming, and timelines are subject to change. Please refer to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for the latest status. Addressing your feedback We heard your feedback about inconsistencies between basic and premium plans. This refresh starts closing those gaps, so features appear consistently across plans based on your license. For example, users with a Planner premium license will now see Goals in basic plans, and users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will soon have access to Project Manager Agent in basic plans as well. Tell us what you think about the new Planner interface, Task chat, and Goals view by selecting More (circled question mark icon) in the top right corner of the app, then selecting Feedback from the dropdown menu. We also encourage you to share any feature requests by adding your ideas to the Planner Feedback Portal. Your feedback helps inform our feature updates, and we look forward to hearing from you. Learn more Visit planner.cloud.microsoft to access Planner directly from your browser. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Learn more about Planner in our Frequently asked questions. Check out the Planner adoption page and Planner help & learning page to learn more about Planner. Visit the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates for Planner. Walk through the interactive demos for Project Manager Agent in Planner and Project Manager Agent skills in Teams meetings.
New planner doesn't show a "schedule" view of tasks assigned to me from different plans
The new version of web-based Planner was enabled for me a few days ago, on November 17th. Apparently, I realized that one of the features I used is missing. At the "My Tasks" view, in the old version of Planner, one could choose to have different views, apart from the grid view. The most useful one for me was the "schedule" view, since I could see in one calendar, all assigned tasks from different plans/teams/projects. This functionality now seems to have been removed, and one can only see one separate schedule per plan.
2026.02.20 - Planner UI update is worse
The UI changes to Planner within the latest Teams desktop app update (version 26032.208.4399.5) has regressed in its functionality and is worse than before. Previously, all of the contents of an item in the Planner were visible at the same time. Now I have to tab between Task Details, Attachments and Checklist, and am unable to view these at once, which has become a critical workflow for me. It is extremely irritating, as I've developed a workflow around how Planner was presented (which was that everything within a task was visible at once), and now it has been compartmentalised. Please unwind this - it is a regressive update and provides less information and requires more interaction to work through the detail of a task.Planner Training
Will there be updated Planner training videos? My organization is new to utilizing MS project management apps (trying to provide this tool so our multiple internal users stay with our protected Share drive). I could use the training and then turn around to support our end users to enhance buy-in and willingness to try something new.Microsoft Project Online is retiring: What you need to know
After more than a decade of supporting project managers and teams around the world, Project Online will officially retire on September 30, 2026. We know this is a significant change, and we want to acknowledge the impact it may have on your organization, your workflows, and your planning processes. This update is exclusive to Project Online and does not affect Project desktop, Project Server, or Planner. Why this change is happening Project Online has served organizations well, but its legacy architecture limits innovation and integration that enhance today’s collaborative work environments, as we announced in 2018. With certain SharePoint Online workflow design tools deprecating in 2026, Microsoft is prioritizing innovation within Planner, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and the Project Manager agent, which represents a new generation of work management tools designed to be more intuitive, scalable, and powered by AI. These tools are built to support both simple task tracking and complex project planning, while integrating deeply across Microsoft 365. What this means for you No immediate disruption: Your current Project Online environment will continue to function as expected until the retirement date. Key dates: October 1, 2025: End of sale for new customers for Project Online-only SKUs. September 30, 2026: Official retirement date – Project Online will no longer be available. Project desktop remains available and is not impacted by this change. Planner remains available, bringing together the simplicity of To Do, the collaboration of Planner, the power of Project for the web, and the intelligence of Microsoft 365 Copilot into a simple, familiar experience. Transition options There are several transition options available, depending on your organization’s needs: Planner: A unified solution for modern work and project management. Premium features in Planner (included in Planner and Project Plan 3 and Planner and Project Plan 5) deliver portfolios, baselines, dependencies, and Gantt charts. Premium license holders (including Project Online customers) already have access to Planner and Project desktop. Now in public preview, Planner introduces Project Manager agent—an AI assistant that automates task creation, status reporting, and execution, adapting to your project’s context and generating professional reports across Planner views—for Microsoft 365 Copilot users. Project Server Subscription Edition: Designed for organizations needing advanced project and portfolio management (PPM) or a close match to the feature set of Project Online. Project Server Subscription Edition provides comprehensive planning, scheduling, and resource management tools, built on the latest SharePoint Server technology. Dynamics 365 Project Operations: Tailored for customers who require robust timesheet management and resource scheduling, Dynamics 365 Project Operations offers integrated tools for project delivery and financials. How to prepare This retirement will happen automatically on the specified dates with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users and update any internal documentation to reflect the above changes. Evaluate the alternatives proposed above and plan the transition immediately. Back up your data, if needed, before the retirement date. Looking ahead We fully understand the challenge associated with this or any product retirement. We remain excited about the future of our Work Management solutions with enhancements coming to Planner, including advancements in AI-powered project management. With Planner and our AI-powered roadmap, we’re building a future where project management is intuitive, collaborative, and deeply integrated into the flow of work across Microsoft 365. Planner and the Project Manager agent are just the beginning of a more intelligent, integrated, and collaborative project management experience. For more information, visit the Planner Blog or reach out to your Microsoft account team. Frequently asked questions What exactly is being retired? Only Project Online is being retired. This does not affect: Project desktop Project Server Subscription Edition Planner – basic and premium capabilities When is Project Online retiring? October 1, 2025: End of sale for Project Online-only SKUs for new customers. September 30, 2026: Official retirement date. Will my current projects in Project Online stop working before the official retirement date? No. Existing customers can continue to use Project Online with full support until September 30, 2026. Your current projects, integrations, and team member access will remain functional during this period. Why is Microsoft retiring Project Online? The legacy architecture of Project Online limits our ability to deliver modern, AI-powered experiences. Microsoft is investing in Planner and the Project Manager agent to provide more intuitive, scalable, and collaborative project management tools. What are my options after Project Online retires? Depending on your needs, you can transition to: Planner – Planner with premium licenses already included if you have a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5 license Project Server Subscription Edition Dynamics 365 Project Operations Project desktop – available with Project Standard 2024 or Project Professional 2024 Is Planner included in my Microsoft 365 subscription? Planner with premium features is available through Planner Plan 1, Planner and Project Plan 3, or Planner and Project Plan 5 licenses. Planner Basic is included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 subscriptions. Users with E3, E5, and equivalent licenses can also participate as team members on Planner premium plans. What is the Project Manager agent? An AI-powered assistant that helps automate task creation, status reporting, and execution. It works across Planner views and helps teams stay on track with minimal manual effort. It also provides Copilot chat capabilities inside Planner. Can I continue using Project desktop? Yes. Project desktop is not impacted by this change and will continue to be available. What happens to my Project Online projects at the end of September 2026? After Project Online is retired in September 2026, you will no longer be able to access your projects or any associated data within the service. To avoid disruption and potential data loss, it is essential that you back up your data/projects and complete your transition to either Planner or Project Server Subscription Edition before the retirement date. I’m an existing customer of Project Online, when will I stop being able to create new tenants? Starting April 1, 2026, current customers will no longer be able to create new tenants in Project Online. What is happening to Project Server 2016 and Project Server 2019? Both products will come to extended support on July 14, 2026. We recommend upgrading to Project Server Subscription Edition. Where can I find more information and updates? Visit the Planner Adoption page. Visit the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates. Stay up to date on the latest announcements from the Planner and Project team by visiting the Planner Blog and Project Blog. Visit the Planner help & learning page to learn more about existing capabilities in Planner. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of Planner in Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Project Service Core Jan 2026 Update locked Plans table
We recently noted the Microsoft Project Service Core was updated to 1.0.161.1772: This update has locked our Plans table, no changes are allowed to the forms and creating new columns is greyed out: We cannot make use of Planner in our model driven app (Planner Premium, non-default environment). After a new Plan is created, the user receives this message when opening the Plan: Two days ago we were in this version 1.0.160.2874): and everything was working as expected. Any guidance would be much appreciated as we are not sure if this is a permanent lock or once the update cycle is completed we will be able to go back to edit Plan forms and columns. Thank you in advance
