Copilot in Planner is now called Planner Agent: an AI teammate you can assign Planner tasks to, which does the work, takes feedback and writes status reports for you. You need a Microsoft Copilot licence to use it, and as of October 2026 it works in every basic and premium plan that's shared with a Microsoft 365 Group.
If you went looking for the Copilot button in Planner and couldn't find it, that's because the name moved. Here's what the agent does, where it lives, what you need before it shows up and where its limits are.
It's called Planner Agent now
On 9 March 2026, Microsoft's Planner blog announced that the Project Manager Agent had been "officially renamed to Planner Agent" and that its features would be generally available across both plan types. Before that, you could only try these agent features in premium plans. Microsoft's admin page adds the other half of the story: the Planner Agent chat in premium plans "previously Copilot in Planner" now carries the same name.
Microsoft describes the agent as "an AI agent that serves as a collaborator for your plans. It executes tasks to help you get work done, takes in feedback to improve its outputs, and writes status reports based on your plan updates." In plain terms, it's a team member you can hand jobs to, as long as the job ends in something written.
What you need before it appears
The licence rule is short. "To access Planner Agent, you need a Microsoft Copilot license." If you also have a Planner Plan 1, Planner and Project Plan 3 or Planner and Project Plan 5 licence, you get the premium functions as well. People on the plan without a Copilot licence can still collaborate on tasks, but they can't assign anything to the agent. (If you're still deciding on seats, here's what the Copilot licence covers.)
The second rule trips people up more often: the plan has to be shared with a Microsoft 365 Group. A personal plan that only you can see won't get the agent. Microsoft says it's switched on by default in every shared basic plan for Copilot-licensed users and in every shared premium plan.
| What the agent can do | Basic plan | Premium plan |
|---|---|---|
| Work on a task you assign to it | Yes | Yes |
| Write a status report from the Reports tab | Yes, with at least 10 tasks | Yes, with at least 10 tasks |
| Use files you add as context | Yes, through Knowledge sources | Yes, through the Goals tab file picker |
| Generate tasks from a high-level goal | No | Yes, in the Goals tab |
Chat is where Microsoft's own pages don't agree. The Planner Agent FAQ says chat is available in both basic and premium plans, while the admin page describes the chat as a premium-plan feature. Task execution and status reports are the parts Microsoft is clear about in both plan types, so plan around those.
How to hand it a task
These are the steps Microsoft gives for a basic plan. In a premium plan the agent is already on, so you can skip straight to step three.
- Create or open a basic plan that's shared with a Microsoft 365 Group.
- Select the floating action button in the bottom right corner of the plan. From there you can upload files under Knowledge sources so the agent has your background material.
- Assign a task to Planner Agent, the same way you'd assign it to a colleague. Microsoft adds you to the task too, so you can follow its progress.
- Open the task to read the output. The agent puts its work in a Loop component inside the task details.
- If it's not right, type your feedback into that Loop component or leave a comment, then select Regenerate.
Write the task description the way you'd brief a freelancer. Microsoft says the agent reads the task in the context of the whole plan, including the description, its goal and any plan files that look relevant. A task called "blog post" gets you something generic. A task that says who it's for, the angle and the length, with your brand notes uploaded as a file, gets you a draft worth editing.
In a premium plan, the Board view gives you a progress tracker. Select Group by in the top right, choose AI agent tasks, and Microsoft sorts everything into All pending tasks, Assigned to Planner Agent, Couldn't complete and Ready for review. The Couldn't complete column is the one to watch: Microsoft says those are tasks where the agent needs more information from you.
Generate a status report
This is the feature I'd expect most small teams to use every week. Once your plan has at least 10 tasks, open the Reports tab at the top. Pick a reporting period of Last week, Last two weeks, Last month or Last quarter. Choose which report sections to include, and under Show more options type what you want, such as Microsoft's example: "Create a comprehensive update on high-priority items for the leadership team." Then pick Concise, Standard or Detailed and select Generate report.
Microsoft says the agent pulls in plan structure, task progress, deadlines, assignments and recent activity, then summarises completed work, ongoing progress, upcoming tasks, overdue items and notable changes. The report opens in a Loop canvas. Choose Keep it to save it or Discard to bin it, and you can share it as a SharePoint newsletter. Every Loop file the agent creates is stored in the SharePoint site of the plan's group, so anyone in that group can find it later.
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Where it falls short
Microsoft is refreshingly honest here. You can assign the agent any task, but it won't always manage it. Its example is a task to build a house: the agent can't, so it writes you a set of instructions instead. Microsoft says it's best at tasks that need text or image-based outputs, and it can format results in a table.
Two more limits worth knowing. Microsoft's FAQ says Hebrew and Arabic aren't currently supported, and it points to the Copilot language list for the rest. And anything the agent writes is a draft: plan members can see and edit the Loop output, so check it before it goes to a client or your board.
The admin switch
If you run IT for the business, the controls are in PowerShell, not a settings page. Microsoft's admin article uses the Set-PlannerConfiguration command with the AllowPlannerCopilot setting to turn Planner Agent and its premium chat off or on for everyone, or to allow it only for one security group. Microsoft warns that policy changes can take up to an hour to apply, and that an invalid security group ID means nobody gets access. One knock-on effect: turning Planner Agent off also disables the document authoring skill of Facilitator in Teams meetings, while Facilitator's other skills keep working.
Planner Agent is one of several agents Microsoft now builds into its apps, and I've rounded up the other built-in Copilot agents separately. If you're new to Planner itself, start with my beginner's guide to Microsoft Planner before you add AI on top.
Should you use it?
I'd try it on one low-stakes project plan first, with a handful of writing tasks and a weekly status report, and judge it on how much editing the output needs. Skip it for anything that needs physical work or client-facing judgement, because that's exactly where Microsoft says it'll hand you instructions instead of a result. If the status report alone saves you an hour every Friday, the licence has earned its place.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot in Planner the same as Planner Agent?
Mostly, yes. Microsoft renamed the Project Manager Agent to Planner Agent, and its admin page says the premium-plan chat was previously called Copilot in Planner. Both now sit under the Planner Agent name.
Do I need a Copilot licence to use Planner Agent?
Yes. Microsoft says you need a Microsoft Copilot licence to access Planner Agent. Teammates without one can still work on the plan, but they can't assign tasks to the agent or interact with it.
Why can't I generate a status report?
Microsoft says the Reports tab needs a plan with at least 10 tasks. Check the plan is shared with a Microsoft 365 Group too, because the agent only appears in group-shared plans.
Can Planner Agent build tasks from a goal in a basic plan?
No. Microsoft says task generation from goals is only available in premium plans, through the Goals tab. Basic plans get task execution and status reports.
