Microsoft Licensing Update: Planner 2026 New and Retiring Features

Microsoft is rebuilding Planner within Teams for early 2026, introducing new collaboration features, deeper AI support, and several key retirements that will influence how organizations structure and manage task workflows.

This update brings Planner closer to the way Teams handles communication and coordination while reinforcing its position as a team‑level task tool. The changes reshape how work is captured, discussed, tracked, and governed across projects, especially for environments that rely on consistent processes and predictable oversight.

Microsoft Planner Changes Coming in 2026

In this episode of "What’s New with Microsoft," Wade Walker (VP, Microsoft Alliance, Sourcepass MCOE) outlines the major Planner and Teams changes arriving by the end of February 2026. The announcements highlight new capabilities such as task chat, custom templates, Copilot’s project manager features, and expanded Teams channel automation. These updates streamline task coordination and introduce a more structured workflow model while several long‑standing Planner integrations are being retired.

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 - Introduction

• 00:49 - Planner starts aligning closer to Teams

• 00:59 - Task chat replaces comments

• 01:22 - Custom templates and reusable layouts

• 01:43 - Copilot project manager capabilities

• 02:07 - Deeper Teams and Planner AI integration

• 02:47 - Sensitivity labels at the task level

• 03:20 - Retirements and removed features

• 04:35 - Teams updates beyond Planner

• 05:05 - What to do next

• 06:37 - Final thoughts and closing

Microsoft is shifting Planner into a more modern task environment built for faster communication, structured templates, AI assistance, and better alignment with Teams. The update centers on four capabilities that your organization will notice immediately.

1. Task chat replaces traditional task comments

   Planner’s old comment system is going away. In its place, task chat introduces targeted messaging with at mentions and richer formatting. Only the people mentioned receive notifications, which reduces noise for everyone else. This shift mirrors how Teams handles conversation threads and brings Planner closer to modern communication patterns.

2. Custom templates improve standardization

   Organizations can now build repeatable templates that define buckets, labels, and other plan elements. This is useful for recurring projects where teams need predictable structure. Templates also support consistency across departments, allowing workflows to mature without adding overhead.

3. Copilot project manager capabilities

   Copilot can now act as a project manager across all plan types for licensed users. It can summarize risks, identify blockers, call out updates, and help structure planning activities. This gives teams a way to automate administrative work without requiring a full project management platform.

4. Deeper integration between Teams and Planner

   Teams meeting decisions, action items, and facilitator outputs are automatically captured and synced into Planner. Teams channels gain new automation features, including a channel agent that can create and update tasks, answer questions about plans, and generate richer status reports. Work back plan generation is available directly in channels, helping teams build reverse timelines with minimal manual setup.

Several long‑used Planner features are leaving in early 2026. If your organization relies on them, you will need to prepare replacement workflows.

1. Whiteboard integration in premium plans

   The automatic whiteboard tab and the ability to convert sticky notes into tasks are being removed. Existing whiteboards remain accessible through the Whiteboard app, but the workflow connection is no longer supported.

2. iCalendar feed

   Planner tasks will no longer sync to external calendars because the iCalendar feed is being retired.

3. Loop components

   Planner boards will no longer embed directly within Loop pages. Instead, Loop will show a link to the underlying plan.

4. Traditional task comments

   The old comments pane is removed in basic plans and replaced with task chat. Previous comments remain viewable through a link that opens in Outlook.

5. Viva Goals integration

   Since Viva Goals is being retired, its Planner integration is also being removed.

These removals signal Microsoft’s direction for Planner as a focused, lightweight task tool rather than a full project or portfolio management system.

Several Teams updates support the broader shift toward AI‑assisted collaboration.

1. Improved meeting layout control

   Teams meetings introduce a resizable divider that lets users adjust how shared content and video tiles display, including spotlight and pinned views.

2. Express Voice Enrollment

   Teams will begin offering a faster enrollment process for voice profiles, enabling clearer attribution in transcripts and Copilot recaps.

3. Facilitator integration

   Facilitator can capture decisions, identify next steps, and convert spoken intent into structured Planner tasks with fewer manual actions. This brings immediate alignment between meeting discussions and actual work in Planner.

Preparing your Organization for the 2026 Microsoft Planner Changes

This update is not just a feature refresh. It shifts Planner toward a more structured and AI‑supported model. Consider the following next steps to adapt your environment effectively:

1. Clarify how Planner is used

   Planner continues to serve as a team‑level task tool. It is not intended to replace full project or portfolio management systems. Organizations using Planner for higher‑level governance or cross‑department visibility will need to evaluate long‑term alternatives.

2. Assess upcoming impacts

   Document where your teams rely on whiteboard integration, iCalendar feeds, Loop components, or Viva Goals. Identify where functionality gaps will occur and plan transition workflows.

3. Standardize templates

   Test and deploy custom Planner templates at the department level. This ensures predictable structure as teams adapt to new features.

4. Pilot sensitivity labels

   Planner now supports task‑level sensitivity labels with DLP enforcement. Test how your environment behaves when copy, export, or print restrictions are applied to task content.

5. Experiment with Copilot

   If your organization has Copilot licensing, begin piloting the project manager agent, channel agent, and facilitator integration. This is an opportunity to understand how AI‑assisted planning can reduce repetitive work.

Moving Forward with the 2026 Planner Changes

Organizations that depend on Planner should use this update as a chance to tighten structure, introduce repeatable templates, test AI support, and prepare for feature retirements. These changes position Planner as a modern task tool aligned with the way collaboration now happens inside Teams.

If you would like help assessing your current environment or planning for these changes, our experts can walk you through next steps and best practices tailored to your environment.

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