Enhancements to Planner in Microsoft Teams channels
By adding Planner as a Teams tab, you can now seamlessly create and add both basic and premium plans directly to your standard Teams channels. This includes the ability to start a plan as a tab from any of our out-of-the-box templates. This unified experience means everything you need is now in one place, making it simpler to collaborate on shared projects right within your conversations. Try it out To get started, follow these steps: Select any standard Teams channel. Select the Open Apps icon at the top right of the channel and search for Planner. Select Pin a tab for Planner. Select Save. You can now add an existing plan to the channel or create a new plan. Note: When you create a new plan, you have the option of starting from scratch or trying one of our templates. These templates range from event planning to building a CRM pipeline. A video demonstrating how to pin a tab for Planner and create a shared space for using the app in a Teams channel. What’s new to Planner in Teams channels One of the most significant advantages of adding Planner as a tab to a Teams channel is the ability to track your work, visualize progress towards goals, and monitor workloads—all within the context where your team works. Our most recent updates extend this benefit further by integrating both basic and premium plans directly into your Teams channels. By consolidating these into a single interface, you can now create and manage your plans without needing to switch between different apps or tabs. As your project requirements grow, you can also easily upgrade to a premium plan from a basic plan right within the Teams tab. This transition between plan types ensures that you can get access to the features you need as seamlessly as possible. This includes capabilities such as: Task dependencies: View and manage the relationship between interconnected tasks. Task history: Review all progress and changes made to tasks. Custom fields: Keep track of important information specific to your plans and workflows. Subtasks: Break down complex deliverables into smaller, more actionable tasks. People view: Visualize and manage team members and their workloads, assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate efficiently, ensuring everyone stays aligned and productive. Goals view: Set, track, and link project goals to tasks, ensuring alignment and visibility of progress towards key objectives. Copilot: Leverage AI to assist users in planning, managing tasks, and generating project insights, enhancing productivity and project visibility. Baselines: Capture and compare the state of a project at specific moments, helping to track progress and identify variances from the original plan. Portfolios: These plans can now be added to portfolios. Check out the full list of advanced capabilities with premium plans in Planner. If you don’t have a premium license, you can still try the feature by acquiring a free 30-day trial. Your team can continue to edit the same fields as before on the premium plan with their Microsoft 365 subscription. Share your feedback We’d love to get your input on this new experience! We're committed to continuously improving your experience with Planner, and your perspective is one of the channels that enables us to shape future investments. There are several ways to share your feedback with us—either via the Planner Feedback Portal or directly in the Planner app in Teams by selecting More (the questions mark) in the upper right corner, then Feedback. Resources Check out the Planner adoption page. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Check out the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of Planner. Watch the recording from September's What’s New and What’s Coming Next + AMA about the new Planner. Visit the Planner help page to learn more about the capabilities in Planner.From overwhelmed to organized: How subtasks transform project management
Do you often find yourself lost in a maze of tasks within your projects? Are checklists not enough for you to keep your projects organized? With the new Microsoft Planner, you can bring order to chaos with subtasks, enabling you to manage complex plans and projects with ease.What’s new in Microsoft Planner – May 2025
This month, explore the latest enhancements to Microsoft Planner, including the streamlined Status Reports feature for project updates, expanded functionality of the Project Manager across multiple views, and preparations for transitioning from Project for the web to Planner. Thank you as always for your feedback in shaping our product! Generate status reports in minutes Are you looking to streamline your project updates? The new Status Reports feature in Planner in Teams is here to help! You can quickly and easily auto-synthesize your plan's progress, milestones, risks, and next steps, ensuring everyone on your team has shared visibility. Customize these reports to fit any audience and timeframe, making your updates more relevant and impactful. To get started, navigate to the Planner app in Teams and open a premium plan, or a plan with Project Manager that has at least ten tasks. Select the Reports tab, specify the reporting period, and add any specific details you want to include. The generated report will be displayed in a Loop component for real-time coediting, making collaboration easier than ever. You can also share the newsletter in SharePoint. Please note, this feature is currently rolling out to English-US customers and requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Loop license. For more information, see our latest blog post, “Generate status reports in minutes with Project Manager agent in Planner. Utilize Project Manager across multiple views Project Manager agent is no longer limited to Board view. Now users can also access the Project Manager in Grid, Timeline, and People view. This allows users to: Assign tasks to the Project Manager across all four views: Grid, Board, People, and Timeline. Access the Project Manager as a plan member in both People view and the assigned pivot in Board view. Drag and drop tasks to the Project Manager bucket to assign tasks to Project Manager in both Board and People view. Transition to Planner and prepare for the retirement of Project for the web Starting this August, Planner is set to replace Project for the web, bringing all your task management tools under one unified platform. Users will automatically be redirected to Planner, which offers enhanced features like Goals, Sprints, task history, and advanced dependencies, alongside AI powered tools like Copilot and Project Manager agent. No need to worry about migration or licensing changes—everything transitions seamlessly! To prepare for this change, administrators can notify users and update internal resources to reflect the new Planner environment. We’re currently working to close some of the gaps between Project for the web and Planner, such as the ability to view and manage non-default environment plans directly in Planner which was released last month. Learn more in our recent blog post, “Transitioning to Microsoft Planner and retiring Project for the web.” Share your feedback Tell us what you think about Planner using the Feedback button in the top right corner of the app. 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 as you try Planner’s new and existing capabilities! Resources Check out the Planner adoption page. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Check out the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates for Planner. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of Planner in Teams. Visit the Planner help page to learn more about the new Planner.The new Microsoft Planner: New task features for organizations with frontline workers
As part of the new Planner, we’re enhancing task publishing, a feature designed to increase clarity for frontline workers about what work is required and increase visibility for the organization on how that work is going.What's new in Microsoft Planner - March 2025
We're excited to introduce a range of updates designed to enhance your planning and task management experience. In this release, you'll find improvements such as the ability to reorder columns in basic plans, a comprehensive view of all due date categories in Board view, persistent filters in premium plans, and a fix for the default view in basic plans. These changes aim to provide you with greater flexibility, better organization, and a more seamless user experience. Let's dive into the details of these exciting new features! Reorder columns in basic plans You can now reorder columns in basic plans! This capability allows you to prioritize and organize your tasks in a way that best suits your workflow. Previously, reordering columns was only available in premium plans. With this update, reordering columns is available across all Grid views. To try it out, simply select and drag the column headers to rearrange them, or use the CTRL+Shift+< and CTRL+Shift+> keyboard shortcuts. Show all due date categories When you group by Due Date, the Board view will now show all due date categories, such as Today, Tomorrow, This week, Next week, and Future, regardless of whether there are tasks assigned. Previously, only categories with assigned tasks were displayed. This change provides a comprehensive overview of all potential due dates and helps you and your team in planning ahead by visualizing all time frames. Save filters across sessions in premium plans When using a premium plan, you can now persist filters across sessions. This means that any filters applied will remain active even after logging out and back into the application. This feature ensures consistency and saves time by maintaining your preferred view settings without needing reconfiguration each time you log in. Bug fix: Opening basic plan defaults to Board view We have fixed an issue to ensure that when you open a basic plan, it continues to default to Board view. Thank you for your feedback in helping us identify and catch this issue! Share your feedback Tell us your thoughts on the new Planner by using the Feedback button in the top right corner of the app. We also encourage you to share any features you would like to see in the app by adding it to our Planner Feedback Portal. Your feedback helps inform our feature updates, and we look forward to hearing from you as you try Planner’s new and existing capabilities! Resources Check out the Planner adoption page. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Check out the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates for Planner. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of the new Planner app in Microsoft Teams. Visit the Planner help page to learn more about the capabilities in the new Planner.
Orchestrating human-AI collaboration in Microsoft Planner
How Microsoft Planner is shaping the future of work management Today at Microsoft Ignite, we announced the next step for Microsoft Planner in the era of AI: Project Manager agent. Project Manager agent is an end-to-end work orchestration experience in Planner that leverages generative AI to streamline the journey from idea, to plan, to done. This is the first time the groundbreaking automation capabilities of Microsoft AutoGen will be available to customers at scale. The new Project Manager agent will be rolling out to public preview in the Planner app in Teams in the coming weeks. To explore these capabilities, customers are required to have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and also need to ensure their current Microsoft 365 licensing allows them access to Microsoft Loop. Introducing Project Manager agent A team of agents working together Project Manager agent in Planner orchestrates multiple agents like a project manager. Working directly with task-specific execution agents, Project Manager agent assures tasks are completed efficiently. This GenAI-powered system uses task decomposition, planning, and a multi-agent orchestration to enhance team productivity. The system brings together specialized agents, each with their own expertise, to work collaboratively on various tasks with humans in the loop to review and guide outcomes. These agents communicate and cross-check each other's work, much like a team of experts refining each other's contributions. At Microsoft Research, pioneering work on AutoGen has demonstrated the benefits of multi-agent systems. Project Manager agent puts these ideas into practice, streamlining completion of complex tasks: Specialized Expertise: Each agent is a specialist, ensuring high-quality outputs tailored to specific tasks. Specialized agents make output more reliable and predictable while preserving the dynamic nature of agentic systems. Team Collaboration: Agents communicate and cross-check each other's work, much like a team of experts refining each other's contributions. Adversarial agents are specifically designed to challenge each other's work to produce more refined and detailed results. Problem Solving: AutoGen research demonstrates that multi-agent systems significantly enhance problem-solving capabilities, enabling them to tackle more complex tasks effectively. For instance, the integration of multiple agents improves performance in math problem-solving (MATH), real-world reasoning (AFLWorld), and sensitive coding tasks (OptiGuide). Contextual Awareness: Certain agents provide context from your team's existing content, integrating historical data and insights into the current plan. Research on AutoGen shows that multi-agent systems facilitate improved contextual awareness and understanding by integrating multiple retrieval mechanisms, enabling a more interactive and dynamic approach to information retrieval. While in preview, Project Manager agent has access to a small set of "built-in agents" that are tuned to complete common information work tasks. Project Manager agent is scalable, and we are excited to expand the set of available agents and capabilities over time. Human-AI collaboration Whether asking Copilot a simple question or automating a complex workflow, teams in every industry are accelerating work with Generative AI. Collaboration is already a pain-point for many teams and the introduction of AI into workflows can further confound the problem. We believe that Planner’s familiar and accessible collaborative work management concepts and tools can effectively streamline human AI collaboration. Project Manager agent leverages Planner to plan, execute, and iterate agentically in an environment where the human team maintains control. Work Breakdown – When presented with a complex goal or task, Project Manager agent identifies a set of steps to achieve it. This structured approach not only breaks tasks into manageable pieces but also distinguishes work suitable for autonomous agents from higher-value or complex tasks requiring human input. Under the hood, Project Manager agent will be collaborating with multiple agents to deliver the desired outcomes. Complex task execution requires creating a plan, intelligently sequencing actions and dependencies, and maintaining a memory system to store the status of individual steps and their outcomes. Assign to Agent – The user is always in control of exactly what and how much work is assigned to Agents. Project Manager agent is flexible and can handle single tasks or orchestrate longer flows. At any time, team members can pause agent work and make manual adjustments as needed. Human in The Loop – During task execution, Project Manager agent can identify situations where more information or context is required from the team. In such situations, Project Manager agent will compile a list of questions that, when answered, will unblock the Agents working on the task. If the system lacks the tools to complete a task altogether, Project Manager agent can provide advice and assistance to the team member working on the task. Integrating Feedback – Project Manager agent won’t always complete tasks perfectly on the first attempt. Once initial agent work is complete, the team can review the task and leave comments on the content. When the review is complete, Project Manager agent will orchestrate iteration on the content, incorporating the feedback. Safety and privacy Generative AI systems have unprecedented capabilities, which introduces novel risks into our products and services. The Planner team is committed to proactive and continuous mitigation of these risks. We employ a handful of key strategies to ensure that we responsibly deploy generative AI: Impact Assessment: We audit new generative AI products in accordance with Microsoft’s responsible AI standard, identifying harms the system could potentially cause. Redteaming: We thoroughly evaluate new products for risks identified in the impact assessment throughout the development process. Ahead of release, our redteaming results are reviewed by a joint Microsoft-OpenAI Deployment Safety Board, as outlined in Microsoft’s AI Safety Policies. Harm Mitigation: Project Manager agent has multiple redundant checks to prevent harmful content, including harm-specific classifiers and a dedicated responsible AI agent. Additionally, your data remains private when using Project Manager agent. Customer data is governed by the commitments we make in the Microsoft’s Data Protection Addendum, Microsoft’s Product Terms, and the Microsoft Privacy Statement. The future of work management As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more advanced features and capabilities to be integrated into Planner. The vision is to create a truly intelligent work management platform that not only supports project managers but also empowers teams to achieve their best work. The orchestration of human-AI collaboration with AutoGen in Planner represents a significant leap forward in the field of work management. Project Manager agent is a testament to the potential of AI to transform the way we work, making it more efficient, productive, and collaborative. As we look to the future, we are excited about the possibilities that AI holds for work management and beyond.New and Improved: Board View in My Tasks and My Day
One of the most requested features from our customers, Board view in My Tasks, is now available in Planner. This feature is not only available in My Tasks but also in My Day, making it even easier for you to manage your tasks each day. The new view offers a more visual and organized way to manage your tasks, helping you stay on top of your priorities and improve your productivity. In this blog post, we'll dive into the benefits of Board view, show you how to use it, and share some real-life examples to help you get the most out of it. Whether you are managing personal tasks or working on a project, Board view aims to make your planning process smoother and more intuitive. What is Board view? Board view in My Tasks and My Day in Planner allows you to organize your tasks in a more visual and structured manner. Unlike Grid view, which presents tasks in a list format, Board view displays your tasks as cards grouped under columns on a board, providing a clear overview of your workflow at a glance. My Tasks in Planner presents all your private tasks, tasks assigned to you, and emails you’ve flagged in Outlook. Board view can help you stay on top of the tasks that matter, making it easy to focus on individual plans and your top priority tasks, as well as manage your workload to avoid taking on too much. In My Day, you can see your tasks due today and tasks you’ve added to your day from My Tasks. Using Board view helps you tackle those tasks in the way that works best for you, whether it’s focusing on one plan at a time, taking on your important tasks first, or staying on top of the tasks you’re already working on. Where to find it In My Tasks and My Day, you can easily switch between Grid view and Board view using the options in the header. How to use it When you are using Board view, you can change how the tasks are grouped into columns using the ‘Group by’ control. Board view enables you to group your tasks by: Plan: Including Private Tasks, Flagged emails, and each plan that includes tasks assigned to you. Progress: Not started, In progress, and Completed. Move tasks between columns to change their progress. Due Date: Late, Today, Tomorrow, This week, Next week, Future, and No date. Move tasks between columns to change their due date. Note: Due date of premium plan tasks cannot be changed from My Tasks and My Day. Priority: Urgent, Important, Medium, and Low. Move tasks between columns to change their priority. Note: Priority of premium plan tasks cannot be changed from My Tasks and My Day. Private tasks cannot be moved to ‘Urgent’. Top tips Use ‘Group by priority’ in My Tasks to stay on top of your most important tasks. Change priority by simply moving tasks between columns. Note: Priority of premium plan tasks cannot be changed from My Tasks and My Day. Private tasks cannot be moved to ‘Urgent’. Use ‘Group by Due date’ in My Tasks to view your most urgent tasks – quickly reschedule by moving tasks between columns. Note: Due date of premium plan tasks cannot be changed from My Tasks and My Day. Use ‘Group by plan’ in My Day to help you focus on one plan at a time. Use ‘Group by progress’ in My Day to limit how much you take on at a time – just move tasks between columns to mark them as in progress or complete. Try it out today Board view in My Tasks and My Day is available in the Planner app in Microsoft Teams and Planner for the web. Try it out today and let us know what you think! There are several ways to share your feedback with us—either via the Planner Feedback Portal or directly in the Planner app by selecting More (the questions mark) in the upper right corner, then Feedback. Resources Check out the Planner adoption page. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Check out the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of Planner. Watch the recording from September's What’s New and What’s Coming Next + AMA about the new Planner. Visit the Planner help page to learn more about the capabilities in Planner.
