By Daniel Rohregger, Microsoft MVP Published Updated
From Project Manager to Planner Agent
Microsoft has officially renamed the “Project Manager Agent” to “Planner Agent.” And it’s more than a new name: the AI features now work in basic plans too. All you need is an active Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
The rename shows how firmly AI now sits at the heart of task management. Microsoft’s stated goal is a shift from simple digital assistants to real teams, where AI and people work side by side as equals.
Free slide deck to download
If you want to present these updates to your own team or to clients, you can download the slide deck here:
Download: Planner Agent slide deck (PDF, 3.70 MB) (in German)
New AI features for basic plans
Until now, the smart Copilot features were reserved for premium users. Now the Planner Agent is coming to basic plans as well, and the only requirement is an active Microsoft 365 Copilot license. That puts AI-powered project management within reach of the whole organization. Microsoft lists this in its release notes as “Planner Agent in group-based basic plans.” According to Microsoft Learn, admins can restrict access for the whole organization or for specific security groups.
Status reports and delegated tasks
With one click, the agent can generate detailed status reports that you can share straight from Outlook or turn into a SharePoint newsletter. You can also assign actual work to the Planner Agent as a task. It handles the work on its own and drops the finished result into a built-in Loop page, where your team can keep working on it together.
Built into Microsoft Teams
In Teams meetings, the agent acts as a proactive project manager: it creates tasks on its own and drafts supporting documents based on what was discussed. In Teams channels, it keeps track of things too, announcing project plans and updating progress based on what people share in the channel. And Planner will soon be available as its own tab in shared channels, making collaboration even easier.
Everything in one place in Outlook
The new Planner app for Outlook lets you manage your personal and team tasks right from your inbox. The agent lets you know in real time, through the Teams activity feed or by email, as soon as AI-powered tasks are done or ready for review. In Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, it also helps you find information across projects quickly and create new plans from scratch.
Premium features stay the same
If you’re on a premium plan, you keep every feature you already know, just under the new name. A new floating chat button right inside Planner makes it easier and more natural to work with the AI toward your goals.
Looking ahead: one unified experience
Microsoft plans to bring basic and premium plans, which have been separate until now, together in the near future.
| Current model | Future model |
|---|---|
| Basic and premium plans strictly separated | A single, unified plan type |
| Different user interfaces | One platform and shared extensibility for agents |
| Plans created manually and in isolation | Company-wide custom templates for consistent processes |
Looking ahead: Agentic Portfolios and workflows
Microsoft’s vision reaches well beyond Planner and will bring in external core systems as well. With what Microsoft calls “Agentic Portfolios,” the Planner Agent will soon be able to talk natively to Azure DevOps, Jira, and GitHub. And as part of its exclusive “Frontier” program, Microsoft is launching the Workflows Agent, which runs complex, automated processes across Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Planner.
What this means for your workday
Everything you need is in this article. If you want to apply it to your own setup, team coaching is the place to start.
