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.
Custom Template Creation from Premium Plan
I have been excitedly waiting for the custom template feature to roll out. My PMO group heavily utilizes Premium Plans only because of the need to have Dependencies tracked. I'm unable to create a template from a premium plan- basic only- which does not have the features that my team needs to use in Planner. Is there an estimated rollout date for custom template creation from Premium Plans?
Frustration with Microsoft’s Task Ecosystem
Why is planner development so slow. Is missing no brainer features that a 12 year old program manager or junior developer would even know what is needed at a very basic level. I’m not going to mention what these features are because this community is full of posts about this. You killed off ToDo which was an incredibly good app and had huge potential now left rotten away. Despite no development for years it’s still a great app and would be up there with the best of them - Todoist, Tick Tick, Apple Reminders, Things. Don’t get me started on Loop. What is the point of it. Planner in Teams is still slow. you have ruined Microsoft Project trying to get it integrated with Planner. Planner licensing is a mess. Planner agent currently doesn’t see premium projects. I know it’s coming. M365 Copilot can only see the default Task list in ToDo but no other list. Who thought that one up? You allow people create multiple lists in Todo but ignore them for Copilot query. I would post a really good convo with Copilot about all of this and even Copilot is scratching its head as to why Microsoft is so crap offering up half baked apps and then drop them for something else thus creating an ecosystem that barely functions and leaves people so frustrated. I could go on but I won’t. Rant over but no wonder people are opting to move to dedicated applications like Asana or Monday.com or Todoist for stuff like this. 🥸🤔😳🤦♂️🤷♂️💋Manage multiple plans effortlessly with the new Portfolios feature in Microsoft Planner
Managing multiple plans across different projects can often become overwhelming for team leads, project managers, or any user handling various deliverables. To simplify the process, we’ve designed a new feature—Portfolios—to help users easily track and manage multiple plans in the Planner app in Microsoft Teams. Portfolios can help simplify complex plan oversight by giving you a consolidated view of all your premium plans and tasks, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. Once rolled out to your organization, users with a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5 license will be able to create portfolios to group and manage related plans, track progress at a high level, and visually organize tasks using the Roadmap view. Whether coordinating between various teams or looking for a top-down perspective of multiple plans, the Portfolios feature in the Planner app in Teams makes it all possible in one location—streamlining workflows and improving collaboration A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying a list of plans added to a new portfolio. How it works To get started with Portfolios in Planner once it’s rolled out to your organization, follow the steps below: Navigate to or launch the Planner app in Teams. If you have a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5 license, you’ll see the new My Portfolios tab in the left navigation directly below My Day, My Tasks, and My Plans. Select the My Portfolios tab to get started with your first portfolio. Then, select the + New Portfolio button. Alternatively, you can select the down arrow directly to the right of the + New plan button at the bottom of the left navigation, then select Portfolio. A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying the new My Portfolios tab with a message that reads, “Get started with your first portfolio!” 3. Add a name for the new portfolio (required), then add it to a group (optional) by selecting the appropriate group from the drop-down. Then, select the Create button. Scenarios to try Below are just a few powerful ways to leverage the new Portfolios feature in Planner. Consolidate multiple plans into a single portfolio: Simplify the process of tracking deliverables and deadlines by creating a portfolio for your ongoing plans. After selecting the Create button, you will see the following message, “There are no plans in your portfolio yet.” Select the + Add Plan button to access a list of all the premium plans you are a member of, including plans you’ve created, as well as those you’ve been added to. A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying the Plans view for My Portfolios with the Add Plan pane open to the right. Select and connect the plan you want to add to the new portfolio as instructed in the Add Plan pane to the right. Properties that are extracted from the plan and displayed in the Plans view include Project Manager, Progress (% complete), Start Date, and Finish Date. The Status field is a drop-down list which enables you to manually select the status of the plan—Not started, On track, At risk, Off track, or Closed—so you can easily identify how the plan is progressing. 2. View your portfolio of plans and their associated tasks as a visual timeline: As soon as you add a plan to the portfolio, a row gets created for that plan on the Roadmap view. In the Roadmap view, you can easily add tasks from the included plans and track them together visually in a timeline view. To add tasks to the timeline, simply select the corresponding plan in the Roadmap view. Upon selection, you will see a Details pane open to the right of Teams with a list of tasks tied to the plan. From here, select the task (or tasks) you want to add to the Roadmap view, then select Add items. A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying the Roadmap view for My Portfolios with the Add items pane open to the right. The selected tasks are displayed as a visual timeline for that plan. A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying a timeline view of plans (and their tasks) added to a new portfolio. 3. Collaborate with your team members: Portfolios in Planner uses the Microsoft 365 group construct to invite users to collaborate on the portfolio. Select the Share button in the top right corner of the portfolio to open the Invite members dialog box. A screenshot of the Planner app in Teams displaying the Plans view for My Portfolios with the Invite members window open in the center. From here, you can create a new Microsoft 365 group by entering each member’s name in the designated text box, then selecting the Create group button. Or, you can add the portfolio to an existing Microsoft 365 group by selecting Add to existing group, then selecting the appropriate group from the drop-down and selecting the Add button. Please note, adding a member to the portfolio does not give the user access to the plan(s) included in the portfolio, but rather enables them to see the portfolio-level aggregations. Availability of Portfolios in Planner The new Portfolios feature is currently rolling out in the Planner app in Teams. Once rolled out to your organization, users with a Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5 license will see the new My Portfolios tab in the left navigation. Users with Planner in Microsoft 365 or a Planner Plan 1 license can view portfolios shared with them in read-only mode. Portfolios will start rolling out in the new Planner for the web in the coming weeks. Share your feedback! We look forward to hearing your feedback and learning more about how you use portfolios in Planner. Please share some of your use cases in the comments below, or let us know how we can help to improve the experience. You can also send feedback via the Planner Feedback Portal or directly in the Planner app by selecting More (the question mark) in the upper right corner, then Feedback.
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.
license to access Planner Premium from Power Apps
We want to create a Power Apps that connect to those main sources:- 1) SharePoint 2) Premium Planner now i know that connects Power Apps to Premium Planner will make the Power Apps as premium app, and users will need premium power apps license to access it. and also accessing Premium Planner will need atleast Planner Plan1. so what is the minimum license for those 3 groups of users:- 1) normal users will be accessing SharePoint lists only through the Power Apps 2) Admin users will be accessing SharePoint lists and Premium Planner through the Power Apps + Premium Planner through the Premium Planner UI. 3) Senior user will be accessing SharePoint lists and Premium Planner through the Power Apps only. does Planner Plan1 is enough for Senior user? and does Power Apps Premium is enough for admins? ThanksPersonalize your plans with custom backgrounds
We’re excited to announce that you can now use custom backgrounds for your basic plans in both Planner in Microsoft Teams and Planner for the web. This addition was a top feature request when we launched the new Planner, and it aims to make your planning more visually appealing and organized. What are custom backgrounds, and why use them? Custom backgrounds allow you to easily distinguish between different plans. Powered by AI, background suggestions are tailored based on the name of your plan, so you can quickly identify and navigate to the specific projects you are working on without confusion. Furthermore, backgrounds enable you to customize your team projects in a way that’s fun and aesthetically pleasing. How to add custom backgrounds To add a custom background to your plan, follow these steps: Open the plan details of any basic plan by either selecting the plan name or the dropdown menu next to the plan name in the header. The Plan details pane will open to the right with suggested backgrounds tailored to your plan. Select the background you want to apply. Try it today Smart backgrounds are 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 question 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.
Timeline zoom
Hello, Is there a way to lower the zoom level in the Timeline view to less than 1 week? I have a couple projects with multiple dependent task per day but if I use the maximum zoom level in the Timeline view I don’t get a good overview of the different task in for example a 4 day period. I was expecting a Gantt chart like view, like what you have in Microsoft Project, in where you can zoom to a minute level granularity even.
